Members of Union Fleurs, the International Flower Trade Association, have elected a new President and Board of Directors during their General Assembly held in Sanremo, Italy on 27 March 2026. The newly appointed Board will serve a two-year term from 2026 to 2028 under the leadership of Matthijs Mesken, Managing Director of VGB, the Association of Dutch Wholesalers in Floricultural Products.
Matthijs Mesken, 58, succeeds outgoing President Augusto Solano of Asocolflores in Colombia, who has held the role since 2022. The Board and members expressed strong appreciation for Solano's long-standing commitment, highlighting his many years of service and his significant contribution to advancing Union Fleurs' mission over the past 25 years.
Mesken brings three decades of experience in the Dutch horticulture sector, along with a well-established national and international network. A graduate of Wageningen University, he joined VGB in 2017 as Managing Director. Under his leadership, the association has continued to represent the collective interests of Dutch wholesalers, importers, and exporters of flowers and plants, whose members account for around 75 percent of the Netherlands' export value in this sector, reaching €7.1 billion in 2024.
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He has also been active within Union Fleurs for several years, serving on its Board since 2018 as the representative for the Netherlands. In addition, he holds positions on the boards of several Dutch floriculture organisations, including the Quality Control Bureau (KCB), Hortipoint, and MPS. Known for his work in advocacy and sector representation, Mesken has a strong interest in connecting business perspectives with policymaking.
The newly elected Board reflects the global nature of Union Fleurs and its role as a representative body for the international floriculture trade. Alongside Mesken as President, the Board includes Peter Larsen-Ledet of Flora Dania in Denmark as Vice-President, Clement Tulezi of the Kenya Flower Council, Paolo di Massa of ANCEF in Italy, and Adrian Moreano of Expoflores in Ecuador, who takes over the South American representation from Augusto Solano.
They will be supported in their role by Sylvie Mamias, Secretary General of Union Fleurs, who runs the daily operations of the association from its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
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Union Fleurs and its members extend their congratulations to the new President and new Board of Directors and look forward to their continued contribution in promoting international cooperation in strategic areas of relevance for the international floricultural trade and in addressing ongoing and future challenges for the benefit of the association's members and of the international floriculture supply-chain at large. The Union Fleurs Annual General Meeting was hosted by ANCEF, the Italian member association of Union Fleurs, on the occasion of the Sanremo Flower Festival (25-29 March 2026). The rich programme covered professional visits, conferences, flower exhibitions. Company visits included: Zunino Cactus (growers of cacti & succulent), Azienda Di Giorgio (breeder of carnations), the Sanremo Flower Market (the most important flower market in southern Europe and the Mediterranean basin), Fratelli Boeri (growers of ranunculus and other cut flowers & foliage) and Biancheri Creazioni (specialised breeder of Ranunculus, Anemones and Poppies).
The AGM programme concluded on 29 March 2026 with the traditional "Sanremo in Fiore" flower parade, a parade of floats decorated with thousands of fresh flowers created by local municipalities. The parade is a landmark event of the Ligurian spring and the floral culture of the city of Sanremo and the entire Riviera dei Fiori.
For more information:
Union Fleurs
Email: [email protected]
https://unionfleurs.org/
