Growing numbers and centrality in Italian policies for ornamental sector

The numbers have not yet returned to those of the glorious times, but the 67th edition of Flormart, the International Trade Show of Horticulture, Landscape Architecture and Floristry of Padua, in Italy, ended last week with positive results: an increase in trade visitors compared to last year and a significant participation of foreign buyers from various parts of the world, great appreciation by professional visitors for the contents of both exhibitors and training events; and the capacity of Flormart to position itself at the center of the key issues in Italian policies for the green sector and to seize market and cultural trends. All of this was symbolized by the installation “Vaso Italia”, on plant biodiversity of the Italian regions, designed by GiòForma studio in collaboration with the Botanical Garden of Padua and placed at the entrance of the fairgrounds.

According to the initial assessment of Flormart 2016, which took place 21-23 September, there were 230 exhibitors and there was a 30% increase in the number of professional visitors compared to 2015. 80 foreign buyers attended the fair during the three days from countries of great commercial appeal such as Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey.

Going into the specifics of the various sections of Flormart, 250 appointments took place between businesses and public administrations in FlorMatch, the b2b exchange platform held within Flormart GPP Lab (Green Public Procurement Laboratory): the first platform in the Italian trade fair system focused on green public procurement applied to horticulture and landscape care, which debuted this year.

A very important event was the meeting of the opening day on the new national sector plan, in the presence of an official of the Ministry of Agriculture, Alberto Manzo. The meeting was attended by a large selection of the major actors of the Italian green industry, who launched some specific demands to the government in order to revive Italian horticulture, and ended with the announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture that it will convocate a committee of the horticulture sector in October.

Of great value for the sector was the return to Flormart of two important collective exhibitions: the exhibition by ANVE (Associazione Nazionale Vivaisti Esportatori, that is the National Nursery Exporters Association) with a selection of high quality nurseries from the north to the south of Italy, and the collective exhibition by the Associazione Florovivaisti Veneti (an association of Veneto nurseries).

The International Forum on green technologies “Ecotechgreen”, organized by Paysage and Topscape magazine also went very well. Altogether more than 400 professionals, including architects and agronomists, took part in the two-day forum, where they were able to get in contact with representatives of the United Arab Emirates for the green projects of Dubai Expo 2020.

There was excellent feedback on Master Flower, the demonstrations by great Italian florists on Autumn Winter 2016-17 floral trends curated by Diade adv, who also organized a photo contest on floral arrangements for professional visitors this year. The contest was won by the team of Marchè Nomade di Casalecchio di Reno (Bologna), an itinerant floral laboratory. The three days of demonstrations by three top Italian floral schools such as International School Mastrofioristi, Federfiori and Florcert Italy were attended by about 130 professional guests, who applauded and dialogued with the master florists, appreciating the creative suggestions by the art director of Diade adv, AnneClaire Budin. All this under the auspices of Associazione Nazionale Piante e Fiori d’Italia, the only public national association of floriculture sector in Italy.

There were various prizes and awards at Flormart 2016. The contest of landscape architecture Flormart Garden Show included two sections. The first was dedicated to regeneration projects for the abandoned industrial area of Fischer Italia at Lozzo Atestino (Padua) and was participated by 52 prominent architectural studios. The winner was the team of prof. Alberto Valerio Morabito with a park project titled “landscapes of art and perception”. The second section was for temporary gardens projects. Among the ten final projects set up during the three-day fair, the victory went to the garden “The Shape of Time” by the team led by architect Antonio Sarto.

Pepinieres Minier, Idea Verde Maschi, Giorgio Tesi Group and Agricontrol.

Nòva_Green prize, curated by Diade adv, consisted of several categories of innovations in the horticultural supply chain. A special mention for garden centers, established this year, went to Idea Verde Maschi in Cremona. In the category "Plants and Flowers" the French company Pepinieres Minier won with the plant "Ilex Crenata Sky Pointer", a small plant sold in pots that can replace the buxus sempervirens being more resistant to diseases. Giorgio Tesi Group won the prize in the "Selling Methods" section with the brand "Pinocchio for a Green Future": the company, which has the exclusive use in the green sector of the original image of Pinocchio, has created a commercial line of plants with the symbol of Collodi's puppet; a percentage of the proceeds go to Dynamo Camp, a center of free recreational therapy for children with serious illnesses. Finally, in the "Technology" section, the first place went to the company Agricontrol for a contactless leaf temperature sensor developed in collaboration with the Computer Science Department of the University of Verona and CeRSAA of Albenga.

For more information
Flormat 2015
Lorenzo Sandiford
T: +39 333-3459187
Email: Lorenzo.sandiford@gmail.com
www.flormart.it