less than two months, the International Floriculture Trade Fair (IFTF) will take place in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands from November 4-6, 2015. Exhibition organiser Dick van Raamsdonk is looking forward to it and is very pleased with the number of exhibitors. "We are sold out." This sixth edition of the fair will feature 250 exhibitors from 40 countries.
Dick van Raamsdonk
Growers want to move forward
"The IFTF is truly an international growers fair", says van Raamsdonk. Growers from the most important flower producing countries, namely Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya and Ethiopia will present their products and will have their own country pavilion. "In spite of the challenging situation for flower growers, we see that growers want to move forward and this is clearly visible in the number of exhibitors, which is higher than last year. The majority of the South American and African growers have to deal with the negative effects of the exchange rates; they are buying in euros and selling in US dollars. Therefore, they are looking to find new and in particular US dollar markets. As this show is internationally oriented and therefore visited by people from all over the world, they are eager to participate in this show."
Platform for floriculture sector
The goal of the fair is to connect buyers and growers. However the presence of the latter group resulted in an increasing number of suppliers. "Therefore we can consider the fair as a platform where everyone in the floriculture sector can meet. International growers, buyers and suppliers are either exhibiting or visiting the show." According to van Raamsdonk, it is very important that visitors and exhibitors meet the right person, also called the decision making person. In order to achieve this, the exhibitors and visitors have gone through an extensive selection.
More florists
According to van Raamsdonk, breeders, growers, wholesalers and retailers are always finding their way to the show quite well, but the number of florists who were visiting the show was always lagging behind. "Florists are becoming increasingly important in the sector. They are, so to call, the final link in the chain. In order to attract more international florists, a special florist event, named IFTF World of Flowers, has now been developed," says van Raamsdonk.
Largest floricultural event
The IFTF, is held concurrently with the FloraHolland Trade Fair (FHTF). According to van Raamsdonk, these show complement each other. "The FHTF auction is for the Dutch grower, and we are here for the international grower. Together, this results in world’s largest floricultural event." In order to stimulate the visitors to visit both fairs, they connected the two with shuttle buses. Besides visiting the fairs, the location also offers great possibilities to visit leading Dutch companies in the floriculture sector.
Many visitors expected
It is expected to become a busy fair. The number of pre-bookings increased significantly. There are about 200% more pre-bookings compared to last year. "This does not mean this will lead to 200% more visitors, but it indicates that there is a large and increased interest for the show."
For more information
HPP Exhibitions
Dick van Raamsdonk
www.hppexhibitions.com