Over 200 representatives of the various segments of the international floriculture supply-chain gathered in the IFTF auditorium in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands on 6 November afternoon, on the eve of the opening of the IFTF trade fair for the first edition of the International Floriculture Forum. The event was organised by Union Fleurs in cooperation with HPP exhibitions and Hortipoint.
High-level speakers accepted the invitation to contribute to a stimulating industry conversation and share their perspectives with the audience on major ongoing and upcoming changes in the fields of logistics, trade & markets and product innovation. Professional moderator Simone van Trier conducted the programme and facilitated interaction with the audience to ensure a dynamic and stimulating conversation across the international floriculture value-chain representatives gathered in the auditorium.
Pieter Elbers, CEO of KLM, opened the afternoon on the topic of “Logistics & freight” and shared his views on the most important developments in airfreight and their impact on the logistics, transport and the international floriculture supply-chain. Marco van Zijverden, CEO of Dutch Flower Group and Jonathan Ralling, International Commercial Director of Flamingo Horticulture, then took the floor to discuss a variety of issues related to the topic of “Trade & markets” and gave their inputs on ongoing and future challenging dynamics for the international floriculture trade. Micha Danziger, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Danziger and Hans van den Heuvel, Managing Director R&D of Dümmen Orange, concluded the afternoon by addressing the topic of “Product innovation” and shared their perspectives on developments in ornamental breeding and their impact on ornamental production and markets.
