The devaluation of the Colombian peso is one of the reasons why growers had and still have a good year. "The value of the peso against they euro and US dollar decreased sharply. Therefore their sales in pesos have, more or less, doubled for the same volumes," explains an exhibitor.
This positive mindset of the growers also opens up opportunities for suppliers of automation products, for example. "Growers have more flesh on their bones and because of scarcity of workers and increasing labour costs, they are eager to invest in ways that will decrease the amount of necessary workers and eventually their costs in the long run," explains an exhibitor that supplies post harvest machines.
FloralDaily is also at the show to make a full Photo Report. This Report will be published on Monday November 2, but below, we give you a sneak peek!
Philippe Veys of Olij Breeding and Ronald van den Breevaart of Green Team Consultancy. According to Veys, the grassheart roses (roses with a green heart) of Olij Breeding are new for the Colombian, and also for the US market and is increasing in popularity. "They have to get familiar with it, but we see an increase in demand, every year," says Veys.
Andrew Lee and Monica Alvarez of Gloeckner. They supply summer flowers from seed and bulbs and hardware to the Colombian growers. They are also promoting the philips flowering lamp as they are hortpartners with philips. "This flowering lamp will be the next thing here in Colombia. It creates better quality plants and saves on electricity costs," says Lee.
Andre Vreugdenhil of Dümmen Orange. The company is exhibiting at the show for the first time under the name Dümmen Orange. The Christa is a new introduction (in the back on the left). The color of the rose is light pink. "So far the reactions have been positive. Many like the color and the fact that the bud opens widely," says Vreugdenhil.
Rainer Kibbel of Original Löwe, Maria Carolina Estrada Ruiz of Flores Esmeralda and Richard Heemskerk of HSI. They are holding the pruner nr. 14 of Original Löwe. With this pruner, Original Löwee wants to enter the South American market. Heemskerk, of HSI, will distribute the pruners in South America. Ruiz of Flores Esmeralda grows roses and alstroemerias in 2 farms, 30ha and 35 ha, in Colombia.
Ido Israel of Danziger. According to Israel, the Atlantis chrysanthemum of Danziger are very popular for Colombian growers. This is because they can be tinted easily. The white ones are the most popular, but there are also other colours: red, bronze, pink and the newest one orange.
Mark Fikkers of Havatec, a manufacturer of flower buncher machines, and Daniel Hoyos of Bicco Farms, a Colombian grower of Alstroemeria, Statice, Solidago, Limonium Blue. In February 2016, Havatec will install their new quality buncher 2.0. This flower buncher is especially developed for the Colombian market. "It saves 50% on labour," says Fikkers.