Bogotá – Flowers symbolize hope and national recovery. With Asocolflores’s support, nine flower breeding companies operating in Antioquia, Colombia will demonstrate as much during the Chrysanthemum Week, August 24-28. “Those attending the event will include representatives of the United States’ major supermarket association (PMA) as well as the most important U.S. supermarkets, flower producers, importers, wholesalers, and retailers,” said President of Asocolflores Augusto Solano.
The event will feature fully virtual activities and tours (a.k.a. an “open house”), making it possible for visitors to experience firsthand the numerous new varieties of chrysanthemum, as well as the processes their production entails.
“We are always looking for new ways to deal with the challenging conditions we are facing. With this in mind, we are confident that this virtual “open house,” along with its academic activities, will increase our number of visitors. Last year, the event drew more than 1,400 visitors; and this year, people all over the world will be able to sign up and attend thanks to the technological tools we have set up,” Solano explained.
This Chrysanthemum Week will bring together representatives of Albertsons, Kroger, Sprouts, Stop & Shop, Walmart, Wegmans Food and Supermarkets and Whole Foods –all major supermarket chains in the United States, which is the main buyer of Colombian chrysanthemums. At the same time, it will feature the participation of several important Colombian and international speakers who will discuss a range of topics including innovation, production, commercialization, and marketing.
According to Asocolflores, this gathering of flower breeders is one of the events anticipated in the Agenda 2030, signed between Asocolflores and the Colombian government in early February 2020. Moreover, the event will benefit from the support of Procolombia, opening an important pathway to increasing the export of chrysanthemums.
Chrysanthemums make up 12% of the 7,665 hectares planted with flowers for export; nearly half of this comes from Antioquia. In 2019, Colombia exported 40,000 tons of chrysanthemums worth USD$150 million.
As mentioned, nine breders with operations in Antioquia will come together to present their new varieties of chrysanthemums: Dekker, Deliflor, Dummen Orange, Floritec, and Royal Van Zanten (all from the Netherlands), Danziger (Israel), Progeny and Icon Selections (Colombia) and Selecta (Germany).
