Blooming opportunities & a stimulating outlook for the future
The General Assemblyof Union Fleurs, the International Flower Trade Association, was organised this year in partnership with Flower Expo Poland in Warsaw, Poland.
Member stravelled from 11 countries as far as Turkey and Kenya to share perspectives and insights on the current developments in the floriculture value-chain. Overall, participants were impressed with the blooming business opportunities offered by the Polish market and the positive energy displayed at every corner of the joint fairgrounds of Flower Expo Poland and Green is Life.
During the Union Fleurs General Assembly meeting on 2nd September, members were joined by three knowledgeablestakeholders active in the Polish flower& plant sector: Mr Martijn Homan, Agricultural Counsellor at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Poland, Mr. Kees van Rijn, CEO of Polish-based Dutch wholesale company Bart Kwiaty and Ms. Anna Małcużyńska, director of PR agency Sigma International Poland, presented a very positive outlook on the future of the Polish marketwith solid growth perspectives in the coming years.They exchanged views with the participants onthe Polish market’s specificities, focusing on consumption & distribution patterns.
The meeting also offered stimulating views and perspectiveson the global challenges and market changes currently faced by the flowers& plants value-chain, particularly traders and wholesalers. The membership agreed that those pre-competitive challenges, including the Brexit process, market access issues and phytosanitary risks, require strategic and coordinated efforts through reinforced lobbying activities by Union Fleurs in Brussels and at international level, for the ultimate benefit of the global flower industry. Additionally, members supported ongoing initiatives to strengthen Union Fleurs activities in the pot plant segment and took on board the need to cooperate more actively among member countries to sustain and encourage global consumption of flowers & plants via generic promotion campaigns, in particular towards the younger generations.
In line with the Union Fleurs strategic review, devised in the last 3 years and formally approved in 2016, members widely supported there newed objective of further engaging directly with key private players of the floriculture value-chain, in addition to the traditional core membership of national wholesale & import/export trade associations. By directly connecting with Union Fleurs’ international network and supporting the Association’s missions and activities, those players will contribute to optimising the global enabling & policyenvironment of common relevance to all operators across the floriculture supplychain. This is more than ever one of the core missions and strategic objectives of Union Fleurs in order to deliver maximum value to its members as the international association of the flower trade.
A busy and stimulating agenda therefore lies ahead of Union Fleurs and its members in the coming months.
Union Fleurs would express its warmest thanks to the organisers of Flower Expo Poland & Green is Life and to the Embassy of the Netherlands in Poland, who had been of invaluable support to organise the General Assembly this year.
For further information, please contact: Sylvie Mamias Union Fleurs Secretary General Tel.: +32 2 736 79 97 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
