The 12th edition of the International Floriculture Trade Fair (IFTF) is a wrap. Like other years, visitors from all over the world attended the show enabling the international flower grower, the core of the exhibition, to meet new buyers. The organization, HPP Exhibitions, is pleased with this year's show and is looking forward to growing even further in 2023. FloralDaily was also present to make a photo report of the show.
Click here for the FloralDaily photo report.
Clockwise: Thomas Bousart and Fulco Spithoven of Benary, the team of Meilland, the team of De Ruiter, Oscar Rietkerk of Maxstim, Adrian Moreno of Mystic Flowers, Claudio Otero of Florequiso and Requena of Continental Breeding.
Increased number of international flower growers
The international flower grower. That has been the core of the exhibition since the establishment of the show, and this year, there have been more growers than in the past. The majority of the growers exhibiting were from Kenya, Ecuador, and Colombia. Part of the reason for this increase in number is that more and more growers seem to be looking to expand in existing and new markets. So, the aim of the show is to connect growers and buyers, but many horticultural suppliers also took the opportunity to show their products and network.
Worldwide challenges
When talking to the different exhibitors at the show, nearly everyone and every country is dealing with challenges. Growers in Ecuador, for example, are dealing with a lack of availability and high prices of air freight. In Colombia, La Niña is causing an unusually long period of rainfall affecting the quality of the crop, and due to the current confusing political situation, some growers or investors have decided to wait with executing their expansion plans. Also, in Kenya, air freight is still a challenge, and in every country, the costs of growing, harvesting, and shipping flowers have increased. The strong US dollar isn't always helping either as freight and many packaging materials are paid in US dollars. Only Colombian businesses, due to the depreciation of the Colombian peso against the US dollar, the impact is less severe.
Click here for the FloralDaily photo report.
Some growers from different countries: Clockwise: Yvonne Chelagat Tirop of Sian Flowers in Kenya, team of Matina Flowres from Colombia, Daniela Cabezas of Mystic Flowers in Ecuador, and Luis Diez of The Valley Springs in Colombia.
Expanding markets - spreading risks
Despite the challenges, growers are eager to expand markets, and several we spoke to are even expanding their cultivation acreage. Many growers are exhibiting the show to expand or enter new markets and to meet their current clients. Still, many flowers go to Russia and even to Ukraine (several buyers from these countries were also visiting the show), but due to the war, a lot of growers decided to look for other markets, in turn spreading the risks.
Positive vibes
Vibes at the show were positive. Many growers met new buyers, and many buyers met new suppliers. The IFTF is in its 12th edition, but the second edition after the pandemic. There were nearly 300 exhibitors, and according to the organization, the show is almost back to as it was pre-Covid times. The first two days were very busy, and even on the last day, which was less busy, still, good meetings were taking place, and business was done.
IFTF 2023
The next edition of the IFTF will be held from November 8-10, 2023, and for this edition, the organization is planning to expand the exhibition floor. It is possible to grow another 7,000 square meters and they are planning to do.
Flowers by Sea Conference - next edition at IFTEX
The day before the IFTF took off, the Flowers by Sea Conference took place. This conference was first held at the IFTEX in Nairobi, Kenya, last June, and again this time, interest was high (Click here to read more on this second edition of Flowers by Sea Conference). Due to its success, the organization decided to continue, and the next edition is planned to take place at the IFTEX in Nairoi in June 2023 again. This edition will go more in-depth, focusing more on the technique of shipping flowers by sea and so on.
Shows of HPP Exhibitions in 2023
Besides the IFTF, more floricultural shows, organized by HPP Exhibitions, are on the agenda in 2023, namely HortiFlora Expo (March 8-10), IFTEX (June 6-8), World Floral Expo (September 7-8), and Agriflor (October 2-4). For more information: https://www.hppexhibitions.com/
Click here for the FloralDaily photo report.