When you live in a country where you get six months of snow before nature starts blooming again, you're glad to see flowers again. Perhaps that's the reason why Ukrainians are visiting the Flower Expo in Kiev in such great numbers. In any case, the love of flowers among the Slavic people have once again led to a major footfall at the trade show.
Droves of people gathered at the floristry demonstrations.
People are taking selfies left, right, and center, and there's no shortage of potential flower buyers. That said, the market is pretty stable, even with the conflict with neighboring Russia, which has lasted for several years now. The event has been a steady staple on the Ukrainian calendar, without any remarkable changes in terms of size, either upward or downward. Exhibitors say they value the show, if only because Kiev appears to be a magnet of sorts to visitors from surrounding countries.
Klaus Wolf, Rosen Tantau and Anatoli Brjuhins, agent for Tantau and Florist Holland in countries including Ukraine
Irina Brusova and Oscar Wild, Invos Flower
The Askania sales team. The rose grower is by far the biggest in the country, with reportedly 150,000 roses a day.
Robert Stoop and Marja Vostrikova of Stokolex, a company that sells large batches of bulbs across Eastern Europe
A delegation from Santa Clara, a group of three growers from Ecuador, are back after having been absent for a few years. Expo Rosas is the broker.
Stay tuned for a comprehensive photo report!