September - October 2019 by KISAN

PRO PAG AT I O N

Pelargonium perfection at P vd Haak FLOW ERT R I A LS

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Stepping into summer at annual bedding plant extravaganza

SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2019

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 VOLUME 29 NUMBER 5

F R O M T H E E D I TO R

COVER STORY

A SUMMER TO REMEMBER 2019 is a summer to remember. In July, all-time temperature records were broken across Western Europe. As temperatures soared, countries such as Belgium, France and the Netherlands sweltered in heat of over 40 degrees for the first time. Meanwhile, conversely, financial experts worldwide warned that the global economy was cooling faster than expected as international trade and investments have been weaker than previously anticipated.

FEATURES 12

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

LESSONS FROM THE EXPERTS IN THE (UNLEVEL?) FIELD Fleuroselect convention: the world’s foremost gathering for members of the young plant and seed trade In the last 13 years Benary has almost doubled its turnover

COLOMBIA SAILS AHEAD IN SEA TRANSPORT OF FLOWERS The trick is to strike a good balance between sea and air

TURKISH CARGO Reporting a 9.6% increase in tonnage

INTERPRETING THE EDV CONCEPT EDV can either strengthen or weaken the entire protection system

TURKISH ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURE Positive outlook for Turkish flower and plant exports

40 FLOWERTRIALS Stepping into summer at annual bedding plant extravaganza

E-commerce is having a significant impact on logistics and supply chain management. That’s nothing new for Mr Lu Zhipeng, Manager of Ornamentals and Horticultural Products Sector, for the Alibaba Group - the world’s largest online retailer – who will be a speaker at the World Ornamental Horticulture Summit in Beijing (September 11-13). Zhipeng will provide valuable insights into the growth of internet sales in ornamental horticulture; how online selling in horticulture will develop in the future; what Chinese consumers are looking for; and what the horticulture industry needs to do to meet changing consumer demand.

Ron van der Ploeg

PELARGONIUM PERFECTION Multiple demands come with the seasonal business of Pelargonium propagation

20 PASSION MATCHED WITH PERSEVERANCE

For Air France – KLM Cargo, perishables are their ‘bread and butter’. To ensure that fresh really does mean fresh, the company has created an ecosystem which includes a breeder, a flower farm in Colombia, freight forwarders, airport authorities, airlines, wholesalers and importing retail business in Europe. Page 24.

Discussing developments in the market for ornamentals within Japan, and around the world, Mr Hiroshi Sakata, President of Sakata Seed Corporation and of the Japan Home and Garden Association, will join the summit’s list of high profile speakers. For the occasion, Mr Joep Hendricks, lead author of AIPH’s International Vision Project (IVP) report series, will reveal trends and indicators for the future production and demand of ornamentals to 2030 and present new findings from AIPH’s latest report focusing specifically on the future of the Chinese market. The summit will run as part of the 71st AIPH Annual Congress. For more information visit www.aiph.org.

ENGINES FOR GROWTH AIR FRANCE-KLM Cargo goes full throttle despite strong headwinds

Freight is always a good barometer of the economic climate. Although air freight only accounts for a small proportion of all freight by tonnage (2-3%) it represents a significantly higher value in terms of import and export values (30 to 40%) within many advanced economies.

Speaking of logistics, the only country that sails ahead in the sea transport of cut flowers seems to be Colombia. FCI spoke to several industry stakeholders who agreed that the trick is to strike a good balance between sea and air. This, in fact, takes off the pressure of aiming for a peak harvest to satisfy consumers on a single day. Page 28.

CONTENTS

VOICES 04

FROM THE EDITOR

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

THE GREEN CITY POST

A COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY?

TALKING USA LOGISTICS

BIGGER OPPORTUNITIES IN SMALLER WORLD

IN EVERY ISSUE 06

WORLD NEWS

08 VIS-A-VIS 44 EXPOSURE 49

SAVE THE DATE

FloraCulture International is an independent trade magazine with the largest circulation for a world publication of its kind. FloraCulture International is published for the ornamental horticulture industry by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH). It’s published six times per year worldwide. Editorial Team: Audrey Gerber, Hidde Koenraad, Edgar Krieger, Marta Pizano, Ron van der Ploeg, Kim van Rijssen, Fred van Tol, Penelope Tomkins. Jean Vernon. Contact: info@floracultureinternational.com. Address: FloraCulture International, Horticulture House, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0RN, United Kingdom. Worldwide Advertising Office: Angie Duffree, angie@floracultureinternational.com tel. 0031 (0)6 403 277 35 Printer: Drukkerij van Deventer Graphic design: Aryen Bouwmeester. Circulation Administration: FBW Abonneeservice, Postbus 612, 3440 AP Woerden, The Netherlands. Subscribe: Sign up now for a free digital subscription www.floracultureinternational.com /subscribe Publisher: Published by AIPH ©2019 FloraCulture International magazine. All rights reserved. Publisher is not liable for the content of the advertisements. Photography by permission of copyright owners.

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WORLD NEWS

VO I C ES NETHERL ANDS

UKRAINE

Dutch flower and plant exports up 3% in the first six months of 2019 Dutch flower and plant exports surpassed the €3.5 billion mark in the first six months of 2019, according to latest data from Dutch market analyst Floridata. This equated to a 3% rise in the total value of Dutch flower and plant exports with potted plants (+4%) outperforming fresh cut flowers (+2%). Meanwhile, the German and Italian export markets have continued to lag behind. Commenting on the Dutch performance, Matthijs Mesken, director of trade body VGB said, “Dutch floral wholesalers successfully spread risk across a wider range of markets.” However, foreign trade of Dutch ornamentals is highly dependent on the weather in Northwest Europe, especially as this region accounts for 80% of the export turnover to the top 10 countries. An early summer heatwave caused a 5% decrease in total value of flower exports. “Orders for potted plants suffered less amid the hot weather, enabling exporters to realise a meager

1% growth,” said Flordata’s Wesley van den Berg. He added that Central Europe roasted in a record heatwave, while this year June had two trading days less compared to 2018. This was partially compensated by strong sales in the run up to Pentecost. Flower and plant exports to Scandinavia have continued to grow, rising 7% to €236 million. Midsummer is a time to party with flowers (especially field- type flowers) being a traditional gift. “For example, at this time of year, Swedish consumers ask for mixed bouquets in red white and blue,” explained account manager Daan Jongsma of Bloom BV. “Midsummer spurs the demand for flowering perennials and bedding plants to decorate patios and balconies,” director Hendrico de Brabander of Noviflora Holland BV added. “Locally

MEXICO

Gregor Lersch to attend inaugural Ornamental Plants & Flowers MÉXICO German trade show organiser Messe Essen is delighted to be welcoming coveted international master florist Gregor Lersch to hold a demonstration at the inaugural Ornamental Plants & Flowers MEXICO, which will be held at the Centro Citibanamex convention centre, Mexico City, September 18-20, 2019. Lersch will join the stage with six world class floral designers who will pass their knowledge on to the trade and public with high-quality workshops. Furthermore, the “Mexican Floral Art Cup” will be staged for the first time. The florists competition is being supported, amongst others, by the Latin American School of Floral Art. Not only the numerous innovations of the exhib-

itors but also a supporting programme on the highest level will await the visitors to Ornamental Plants & Flowers MÉXICO powered by IPM ESSEN (OPF). The German florist Gregor Lersch from Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, who has won several international honours, and six other top international florists will provide proof of their ability in live presentations. These will include Daniela Pighetti

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

grown plants are also riding the wave of popularity in Sweden. June was a perfect month for sales as it followed a relatively cold May,” he said. Dutch flower and plant exporters’ market position in Denmark and Sweden is particularly strong with 95% of cut flower imports originating from the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the economic outlook for Germany – the largest export market for Dutch cut flowers and potted plants - continues to darken with the lowest economic growth since 2013. In the first six months of 2019, total value of Dutch flower

and potted plant exports to Germany decreased by 3% with little change seen in terms of market channels. “In cut flowers there is little to no change, but in potted plants, garden centre chains and DIY stores continue to gain market share,” said Van den Berg. The Italian economy is also set for the doldrums, causing the export value of Dutch ornamentals to decrease by 1% in the first six months of 2019. In conclusion, the 3% increase in Dutch flower and plant export value can predominantly be attributed to growing demand in Central and Eastern Europe.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Mr Hidde J. Koenraad is Partner in Intellectual Property at Boekx Advocaten (Amsterdam).

Xylella fastidiosa: the worst current threat to European nurseries The European Nurserystock Association (ENA) summer meeting was held in the Ukrainian capital Kiev during the first week of July 2019.

from Italy, Robert Milkovwki from Poland, Kike León from Spain as well as Oscar Villela, Marco Sandoval and Macarion Amador from Mexico. Under the title “Creatión Master”, they will show how genuine floral masterpieces result from technique, colour and structure. Additional creative ideas will be presented by the up-andcoming generation: 21 pupils in the master classes at the Latin American School of Floral Art (EIAF) from Costa Rica, Colombia, Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico will exhibit their work. Furthermore, application for the first “Mexican Floral Art Cup” is going into the hot phase. In total, 15 places are to be awarded. The prerequisite is a final qualification at a floral design college. The competition is being

supported by EIAF, OPF and the international florists organisation FLORINT.ORG. With OPF in Mexico, the green sector is being provided with a strategic meeting place. The new event is intended, above all, for plant breeders, landscape architects as well as gardeners and florists. The available range will encompass Plants and Flowers, Technology and Innovations, Floristry as well as Horticulture and Landscaping and will thus offer an impressive overview of the latest developments and trends on the floral market in Latin America. After China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, Mexico is the fourth country in which IPM ESSEN is creating new stimuli with its own fair. Further information at: www.ipm-essen.de

The delegates from 16 countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom) attended and discussed the main issues in the nursery sector. ENA President, Mr Jan-Dieter Bruns, thanked the Ukrainian nurseries for hosting the event, mentioned the numerous trade contacts between Ukrainian and EU nurseries, and stressed the importance of talking about problems and sharing information on the nursery sector regardless of political boundaries. The General Assembly discussed the implementation of the forthcoming EU Plant Health Regulation. This will enforce the requirement for a new EU plant passport from 14 December 2019. Delegates complained that their nurseries are receiving little or no information from their national plant health authorities on the implementation of the new plant passport and the traceability obligations they will have to comply with. The situation of Xylella fastidiosa, described by Mr Henk Raaijmakers, Vice President of ENA as “the worst current

threat to European nurseries” was also reviewed. Delegates from affected countries explained the current status and control measures for latest outbreaks. The General Assembly discussed the option of insuring nurseries against losses, which is already available in a few countries. Raaijmakers encouraged European nurseries to thoroughly assess their plant health risks and minimise the threat of introducing Xylella into production nurseries or trade. Bruns expressed his satisfaction for the evolution of the European market and closed the meeting with an invitation to all delegates to the ENA summer meeting to be held in Bavaria, Germany in 2020. The General Assembly was rounded off by an educational tour of wholesale plant production nurseries Natalis, Kornelis and EVA, organised by the Ukraine Plants Industry Association. The Ukraine is a 603 000km2 country with a population of over 40 million. Kiev, the capital city, is the largest in the country with almost four million inhabitants. The main sectors of the economy are agriculture, metallurgy and IT. In the last decade, plant consumption has steadily increased.

It is quite common for breeders to choose a person’s first name as a variety denomination or trademark for their new varieties. However, this practice can lead to conflict as it is often the case that a name has been registered already. In a recent matter, that reached the European General Court of Justice (decision of 18 June 2019, Case T-569/18), the question was whether a conflict with an older variety denomination could be overcome by including the company name as part of the trademark application. On 26 September 2016, the company Kordes sought to register the EU-mark ‘KORDES’ ROSE MONIQUE’ for roses. However, the examiner at the EUIPO refused the application on the basis that the name would correspond to the already existing ‘Monique’ rose variety, which enjoyed plant variety protection in the Netherlands between 2001 and 2005. Based on EU law, the registration of a trademark is to be refused in respect of signs that consist of, or reproduce in their essential elements, a registered earlier plant variety denomination for the same or closely related varieties. Kordes appealed by arguing that the essential component of its trademark was not ‘Monique’ but ‘Kordes’. Besides, Kordes argued that the ‘Monique’ component is the variety denomination and therefore a component that is unimportant for the qualification of the overall designation as an indication of origin. The Board of Appeal (BoA) did not agree and ruled that the general public will perceive the ‘Monique’ element as an essential element of the trademark as a whole and that only specialist consumers (such as breeders, growers and retailers) may recognise ‘Monique’ as a variety denomination. Kordes appealed again with success. The General Court agreed with Kordes that the element ‘Kordes’ is the only distinctive element of the mark applied for, as it makes it possible to determine its commercial origin. Furthermore, the apostrophe after ‘Kordes’ indicates that the rose with the denomination Monique is a variety marketed by various undertakings but, in the present case, originating from the Kordes company. According to the court the word element ‘rose’ added to the element ‘Kordes’ is merely descriptive of the goods in question and the variety denomination Monique, in turn, is a generic denomination, which may be freely used by other breeders. By adding its company name, in the end, Kordes thus succeeded in claiming its own ‘Monique’ as part of its trademark. However, the EUIPO may still appeal against this latest decision.

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V I S -À-V I S

Staying cutting edge in business Marc Driessen last spoke to FCI when he was setting up his own business for Beekenkamp’s offshore cutting production in Ethiopia. Now repatriated to his homeland of tulips and windmills and a new member of the board of executive directors at Beekenkamp Group, he cherishes the memories of his time in Africa but tells us he is ready to take up new challenges. “Staying cutting edge in the young plant business requires excellence in genetics, product

AUTHOR: RON VAN DER PLOEG

quality, logistics performance and spreading risk,” he says.

ased in Maasdijk, Netherlands, Beekenkamp Group is a family-owned plant breeding and propagation business. The company has grown from strength to strength since its foundation in 1951. Four specialised divisions (Beekenkamp Vegetables, Beekenkamp Ornamentals, Beekenkamp Packaging and Deliflor Chrysanthemums) hit a combined turnover of more than €125 million in 2018. Marc Driessen, aged 53, spent 14 years establishing Beekenkamp’s presence in Ethiopia by setting up a cutting farm, 130km south east of Addis Ababa. From commencing a training contract at Beekenkamp in November 1995, the company helped Marc develop his career by offering him the opportunity, eight years later, to form a 50:50 joint venture in Ethiopia: Maranque Plants, a contraction of Marc and Anke, Marc’s wife.

FCI: From a business start-up in a very remote location, Maranque Plants grew into a mature business. That must have been quite a journey? Marc Driessen: “The cutting farm and the sector as a whole got off to a flying start. Major Dutch and Israeli investments in 2005 provided a boost for Ethiopia’s horticulture industry with the Dutch government being particularly active through its PSOM funding programme. However, it was Sher’s giant development that put Ethiopia on the map as one of the world’s major flower producers. From 2010 on, new companies emerged while existing farms grew by 20 or even 30%.”

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

How would you describe Ethiopia’s investment climate today? “The country continues to be an attractive place to invest in Africa. The country’s government is committed to opening up the economy for international businesses to establish themselves. In Ethiopia there’s time and opportunity for everything especially for those companies which broke into the market first. However, I believe the time of first movers making the greatest returns is over. More recently the country hasn’t paid off the way it once did. Bangladeshi clothing factories and Chinese manufacturers have also found their way to Ethiopia putting the labour market and land prices under pressure. For example, at Maranque, our knowledgeable head of exports left four years ago when a clothing company offered him a job in his home town ending his years of a long commute.”

The Maranque farm evolved through a life cycle, marked by times of happiness, but unfortunately also by periods of instability, ethnic tensions and even violence. “Of course, I, and my family have fond memories of the country’s exquisite natural beauty and overwhelming wildlife, its people and market potential. But the road to bloom was not only sprinkled with rosy petals. Being affected three times by malaria definitely takes a toll on your health. And in 2005, the country seemed to be on the verge of civil war. I remember that I talked it over with my wife and we both agreed that we would not live in a country that was at war. Then in 2016, violence engulfed the country with people waving

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V I S -À-V I S

knives and guns in front of our gates. That was a bridge too far. Seeing wounded soldiers all around and the only access road to our farm blocked with huge stones was too much. Having a 50% share in the company not only gave me a sense of ownership but also a huge sense of responsibility for the 1,200 people who worked at Maranque at the time. I remember how our local staff went into blind panic. Some of them had very young children living in Addis. I needed to convince them to stay at the farm as I knew it was too dangerous beyond our gates. However, I instructed all the staff on how and where to flee in case things spiralled out of control.”

How do you cope with these kind of things? “I talk about it when I feel it’s necessary. Months after the events, I was still unable to sleep for any more than three hours but that has improved a lot now. Overall, I am more on the qui vive for signs of danger. Ethiopia’s government foiled an attempted coup in June this year. But one should not focus on the negative. The country is halfway to refinding its stability. Remember Ethiopians are resilient people. Just a couple of months after the 2016 events, it was amazing to see how quickly daily life picked up and how, as Europeans, we were once again treated in the usual way.”

Meanwhile, Beekenkamp Group continued a thorough market analysis of other countries. Why is spreading risk so important? “Perfectly aware that some crops were only grown in either Ethiopia or Uganda we looked at ways to spread our portfolio across more countries even though we realised that operating from three instead of two farms would increase production costs. We even considered moving to Colombia with higher workplace productivity but transport costs to the European market proved to be a bottleneck. Eventually three countries remained: Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. Tanzania faces a lot of restrictive red tape and in Rwanda we struggled to find an affordable alternative to our plastic bags of cuttings. East Africa, as a whole, is known for having introduced the world’s toughest ban on plastics so that is something to monitor closely. Eventually we found a perfect spot in relatively expensive Kenya. In Kimana, a 5-hour drive south east of Nairobi and situated at the foot of Kilimanjaro, Beekenkamp is in the process of taking an option on 25ha of land and right at the heart of this a 10ha cutting farm is planned. Scheduled to be operational at the beginning of 2021 the Kimana greenhouses will be predominantly dedicated to the production of Chrysanthemum cuttings with more crops to follow later.”

Kimana might bring back Maranque’s pioneering years as the new farm finds itself in an extremely remote area. Aren’t you afraid of missing out on the benefits of agricultural clusters such as Naivasha? “With plant health being our top priority, Kimana offers different benefits. Being in an isolated location with no other greenhouse operations in the vicinity reduces the possibility of cross contamination. Think of Maranque’s first pioneering years with only

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

V I S -À-V I S

desert around us and a complete absence of thrips and leafminer.”

As well as the new farm in Kimana, Beekenkamp Ornamentals’ own breeding line of Begonia, Campanula, Celosia, Dahlia, Lavandula, Osteospermum and Poinsettia is another example of how the company invests in its long term future and stays competitive at a global level. “The start of our breeding activities in potted plants coincided with the opening of Deliflor’s headquarters in 2007. Right away there were synergy benefits with Deliflor having such a long track record in Chrysanthemum breeding. We realised how important it was to have your own genetics and acquired breeding company Florema in 2008. Overall, more and more dependence exists among seed firms and breeding companies with the risk of breeders claiming specific series exclusively for themselves.”

can be made. With regard to the North American market one of our biggest issues is that our young plants can freeze in winter during the final distribution leg. In summer it’s the other way around when we add ice to the boxes before they leave Africa.”

What does it take to move 700 million cutings a year from Africa to Europe? “An unbroken, well-oiled cold chain and technical sophistication. We add temperature loggers to all our shipments to Maasdijk. As for air freight we lean on different carriers. Addis Ababa is slowly but steadily emerging as Africa’s major hub with Ethiopian Airlines dominating the market. We use direct flights from Ethiopian Airlines to Liège Bierset and Brussels Zaventem airports. For outbound flights from Uganda we work with AF KLM Cargo. They do a good job although capacity on passenger aircrafts is limited. In accordance with IATA rules the first thing to get bumped is cargo. As such we already split our air cargo shipments before they leave the farm.”

‘WE BELIEVE THAT BREEDING, PROPAGATION AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT MUST GO HAND IN HAND’

In 2017, you sold your shares in Maranque Plants to the Beekenkamp Group whose board of executive directors you joined one year later. What is your vision and strategy for the future? “I believe that the competitive strength of today’s young plant producer is not only determined by the quality of starter plants but also by the operations and actions that place the products timely onto the growers’ bench. The routes can be extremely bumpy. Think delayed or cancelled flights. Even worse are internet blackouts which impede the ability of handling agents to track shipments en route. As such Beekenkamp offers its customers satellite internet reliability. More progress

FAMILY BUSINESS Founded in 1951 by Mr G. Beekenkamp who specialised in the production of vegetable transplants, Beekenkamp Group today employs 2,600 staff globally growing over 2 billion young plants (vegetable transplants, chrysanthemum cuttings and ornamentals cuttings combined). Currently, the company is owned by second generation Annie and her sister Margriet Beekenkamp. Everyone who has visited Beekenkamp’s FlowerTrials knows that upon entering, the company feels like a big family right away with CEO Annie Beekenkamp always ready to shake hands and have a chat. Pondering over the real values of a family business Driessen says, “It’s about sustainability based upon running the business properly and having a clear vision and long term goals in place. Our employees are very committed, not only to our own firm but also to our customers growers. As suppliers of plant material we are perfectly aware that we are part of our customer’s business too which brings huge responsibility. I think family businesses tend to focus more on long term goals and continued investment even in economically testing times. The family character of the business, for me personally, was one of the decisive factors when I joined the board of executive directors.”

Beekenkamp manages a global supply chain for collecting, handling and assessing cuttings from all over the world to ensure the best quality reaches the customer. What is quality? “Keeping a constant eye on quality is vital and takes vigilance. Elite and strict hygiene facilities form the backbone of our global production locations. In terms of crop protection products, as far as I am concerned, I am a real plantsman, someone that perfectly understands that applying chemicals on plants automatically results in slower growth and that chemicals impede IPM activities in case of a pest outbreak. Insects are a big concern and therefore we have IPM scouts supervising our Elite greenhouses. They use Scarab Precision, a software-based service for protected cropping which includes high precision pest and disease maps, charts and tables.”

How does consolidation impact your business? “We are increasingly surrounded by bigger companies. For some of them, breeding is the main focus. We believe that breeding, propagation and supply chain management must go hand in hand and as such can create a competitive advantage. Giant breeding companies may have access to more funds and thus advanced breeding techniques but with more collaboration in the sector there’s still an awful lot more we can achieve. Speaking of breeding, construction of a new breeding technology centre will begin next year. It will be situated only 500m from our Maasdijk-based headquarters and is due to be completed in December 2020. The new research centre will give a huge boost to innovation and will mark the transition from classical to technology driven breeding such as marker assisted plant breeding.”

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PR O PAG AT I O N

PELARGONIUM PERFECTION

“From the family owned plant nursery Silze to be more precise. Founded in 1899, Silze made a name in Pelargonium breeding selling its genetic stock in 2012 to their long-time business partner Florensis, P. van der Haak and Ball Flora Plant, who now jointly own the Toscana brand. Developing the Toscana breeding programme is the task of Fabienne Monte at Florensis headquarters in Hendrik-IdoAmbacht, while we do all the rooting of Toscana varieties. Ball provides an extensive global network selling Toscanas under the Galaxy brand in the North American market.”

In his new greenhouse complex, Perry van de Haak sat down with FCI to share his thoughts on the search for the perfect Pelargonium and on the multitude of demands that come with the seasonal business of Pelargonium

AUTHOR: RON VAN DER PLOEG

propagation.

FULL STEAM AHEAD

sk Perry van der Haak for the most alluring Pelargoniums in the value chain and he’ll energetically jump up from his chair, walk into his greenhouse and start to move containers around, remodelling his landscape until he has composed a series that has the most uniform flower timing for growers and makes the most striking display on the retail bench. Here’s a man who developed a passion for Pelargonium and all things associated with that market.

The customer base ranges from small scale growers and specialist producers to large greenhouse operations selling to big boxes and chains. “Basically we can handle anything from single trays to full load shipments,” says Perry explaining that for transportation the company chooses groupage shipping solutions. “We make clever use of the many trucks that are on the road daily between the Dutch flower auctions and clients across Europe.”

FUTURE-ORIENTATED FAMILY BUSINESS Having deep roots in horticulture is how you can aptly describe P vd Haak’s company history. It’s the story of a future-oriented family business, which has developed from a one man band to an internationally renowned company selling Pelargonium cuttings to customers in over 25 European countries with cutting production in Africa, a state of the art rooting station in the Netherlands and a trading partner in the USA. The Van der Haak name goes back to 1964 when Perry’s father Piet swapped growing butterhead lettuce and tomatoes for Pelargonium, the plant known for its unrivalled beauty and stable ranking. In fact, Pelargoniums are the ‘life and soul of the garden party’ constituting a large part the garden retailer’s ability to drive all other bedding plant sales.

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

TOSCANA Perry admits that for all its beauty, Pelargonium has a questionable reputation for creating nomenclatural confusion since the times of

Second generation Perry van der Haak. “When I joined the business thirty years ago we used to grow finished and semi-finished plants and a handful of stock plants for cuttings which were sold at the local market. Slowly but steadily we expanded our cutting business, planted our first mother stock plants in Kenya and began to export our plant material. Today, we stick

over 75 million cuttings per year,” says second-generation Perry van der Haak, attributing 80% of his turnover to income from exports. “Close to home (‘s-Gravenzande), the UK, Belgium, Germany, France and Austria were our first export ventures and continue to be the most successful accounting for 50% of total turnover.”

Linnaeus. Pelargoniums are incorrectly known as Geraniums, but the true geranium is a hardy perennial while Pelargoniums are frost tender bedding plants and originate mostly from South Africa. Being consistent with the Pelargonium name matters. “But the plant has a different name in different countries. In Holland it’s called geranium but when you travel to Scandinavia they talk about Pelargonium.” Consistency in branding may be more important. Perry references the Toscana brand, an extensive line of over a hundred Pelargoniums, ideally suited for retail promotions and specialist producers alike. Toscana’s ancestors hail from Papenburg, Germany, he explains.

This year, P vd Haak put on an excellent FlowerTrials show.

Perry van der Haak: always keen to compose a series that has most uniform flower timing for growers and makes the most striking display on the retail bench.

Over the past few years, Toscana’s brand owners have been pursuing their product expansion strategy full throttle with the line of Endisch Pelargoniums being the latest addition to the Toscana family. Currently, Endish offspring can be spotted in Toscana’s Trend, Rainbow and Big5 series. “With Endisch we are adding value to customers active in the Eastern and Southern European market as the brand includes a number of heat tolerant, beefy interspecific hybrids –ivy leaved varieties crossed with zonals with outstanding garden performance.” The team behind Toscana actively manages the product portfolio to ensure true alignment with their customers’ needs. As such, Toscana classification is kept simple: X, M and C lines stand for large, medium and compact plants respectively. Much prominence is given to Toscana Dolce Vita M Line for 10.5 and 12 cm pots including a number of stand-out geraniums such as Mylena (dark foliage contrasting with vivid red florets), Magical Eyes (with patterns of flecks and specks) and Lollipops with white or rose petals edged in red. Attracting the attention at this year’s FlowerTrials was the specked Claire Rose Red Eye in the Castello M Line series and the Smart M Line for 10.5 and 12 cm pots and coming in a wide variety of colours.

HUGE PROGRESS When looking back on 30 years of experience in the Pelargonium

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PR O PAG AT I O N

industry, Perry says that if you could grow Pelargoniums from 30 years ago along side today’s assortment, you would be amazed to see the degree of progress achieved in breeding which has resulted in plants with greater uniformity, better garden performance, extended (retail) shelf life, bolder colours and an easy-to-control greenhouse habit. It’s no secret that dark foliage in the garden is hot. Think Benary’s Mocca Begonia or Heuchera Palace Purple. In 2002, the seed-raised AAS winner Pelargonium Black Velvet Rose truly created a stir with its exceptionally dark, chocolate foliage with a green edge which contrasts nicely with its rose blooms. Perry: “Seed and cutting raised Pelargonium are completely different worlds. In vegetative Pelargonium production, breeding focuses also on mother plants with important questions such as: Do they produce enough cuttings and are these easy to harvest and to transport? Meanwhile, Toscana Dolce Vita and Castello are good examples of how to successfully expand the darker zones on the foliage. However, truly black leaved Pelargoniums are still rare. They are seed-raised and flower very late in the season, making them unattractive from the commercial point of view.”

QUALITY CUTTINGS Perfection in Pelargonium starts with a quality cutting. A global

PR O PAG AT I O N

Variegated and coloured leaved Pelargonium: a proof that the company’s product portfolio is extensive.

The tallest greenhouse includes a two-storey section for plant acclimatisation, cutting sticking, sorting and packing. plants require space; in terms of transportation costs, cuttings are relatively heavy; and once in the greenhouse plants require spacing and lots of light. Even in the garden centre plants must be given enough space. It can therefore be frustrating that such a high cost product is used for retail promotions.”

THE ART OF PELARGONIUM GROWING

Off-peak production of a limited number of finished plants is meant to keep the fingers on the pulse of the bedding plant industry.

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supply chain, involving many suppliers and sub-suppliers; a product easily prone to diseases such as Ralstonia and Xanthomonas; and the need for consistent, high quality together presents a considerable range of challenges for the company.

“First, we minimise risks in Kenya by growing our cuttings in NAKT Elite greenhouses. NAKT Elite is a Dutch certification scheme. Certified starting material is free from relevant pathogens, guaranteed by testing protocols in combination with a quality management system,” Perry explains. The next step is transportation by plane which demand an extra level of care and attention. Too low a temperature will result in cold damage, while too high a temperature will cause cuttings to start producing ethylene. What’s more, daily and on-time delivery is crucial but not always something to be taken for granted. Perry: “Especially in the run up to Valentine’s Day airfreight capacity is an issue. Cuttings delayed by one day means that the next day we have to stick two shipments with all the problems involved in staffing. My point is that at every stage of the supply chain, from the cutting farm in Kenya to the retail shelves across Europe, Pelargonium is expensive in terms of handling. Mother stock

Perry stresses that there’s an art to growing Pelargonium adding that his new 3.2ha glasshouse complex built by Technokas, with 8 variable temperature zones, allows him to control the environment and create optimum conditions. To date, cuttings continue to be stuck manually under sanitary conditions. Though the company was the first to trial the new Autostix technology by Visser. Perry is reluctant to provide any details on the outcome of these trials without expressing any preference for Autostix or ISO cutting planters. “But it’s clear that the industry is in need of a solution to address the ever growing problem of labour shortage.” P van der Haak supplies its cuttings in 2.5 and 3.5 Ellepots for retail and specialty crop growers respectively. Once cuttings are stuck, special attention is given to a balanced mist schedule with the callus forming first week being the most critical phase and starter plants needing an almost continuous film of water on their leaves. A good root system will have developed within 3.5 weeks and prior to shipping, acclimatisation prepares young plants for outdoor conditions. This is done in the ‘attic’ of the tallest of the two new greenhouses. While the ground floor of the two-storey greenhouse is used as a packing area the second floor serves as acclimatisation room with

large window vents and diffused glass adapting the starter plants to tougher conditions.

SPECIALISTS The folks at P vd Haak are specialists. This means that Pelargonium propagation and off-peak production of a limited number of finished plants (to keep their fingers on the pulse of the bedding plant industry) is all they do. “In the past we have been tempted to add other products but the main benefits of being a specialist is being able to complete specific tasks at a very high level, upscaling our production to large volumes while still adding value to our products by innovative breeding,” outlines Perry as he walks us through the greenhouses where the first potted cuttings were placed on Codema’s high tech bench system at the end of 2016. Perry opted for Codema as the company is known for having an impressive track record in horticultural logistics using high strength aluminium alloys. “For us ‘Codema’ primarily stands for reliability and safety.”

LOGISTICS AND WATER TREATMENT The company’s logistics are a prime example of ‘First in first out’ greenhousing, an inventory control method in which the first plants to come into the greenhouse are the first to leave. “Initially we thought about growing on the floor but a bench system puts less strain on the backs of our employees, saves time and also makes sanitary sense for our young plants. Speaking of sanitary: following each turnaround, benches are directed to the washing unit to be cleaned with odourless quaternary ammonium disinfectant concentrate.

Perry briefly explains that all irrigation water is recycled from the benches, after it has been purified by Opticlear Diamond. This is a system developed by Wateriq for the treatment of process water combining ozone and hydrogen peroxide, molecular adsorption with an advanced oxidation process. Perry says Opticlear Diamond results in lower energy bills compared to UV and that the system has a capacity of 24m3 of water per hour. The Van der Haaks ensure that their large structure propagation nursery minimises its environmental footprint with measures including harvesting rainwater run-off in 6 underground water retention basins (each holding 250m3 of water) along with an IPM programme.

P VD HAAK QUICK FACTS Total greenhouse area 5ha including 3ha greenhouse expansion in 2016. Newly built greenhouses - 2 glasshouse complexes - 24,000m2 with a post height of 6 metres and 8000m2 with a post height of 9 metres. - The tallest greenhouse includes a two-storey section for plant acclimatisation, cutting sticking, sorting and packing. - The lower greenhouse includes 8 different temperature zones - Underground storage of rainwater in 6 water retention basins, each holding 250m3. - Diffused, but UV transmitting glass (to support the killing of fungi) with anti-reflective coating. - Lighting: 80 micromoles/m2/sec. - Ebb and flow rolling benches from Codema. - Water treatment: Opticlear Diamond.

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CONVENTION

Lessons from the experts in the (unlevel?) field Around 100 delegates, representing 39 companies from 15 countries, convened for Fleuroselect’s 50th annual convention, hosted by Benary, in Hann, Germany from 2-4 July, 2019. The threeday annual event is the world’s foremost gathering for members of the young plant and seed trade and an opportunity

AUTHOR: RON VAN DER PLOEG

to learn, share and network.

leuroselect’s annual convention has the semblance of a family gathering. However, whilst families are supposed to proffer unconditional support and display a sense of solidarity , there are always some that have their problems and Fleuroselect is no exception. But this is not surprising given the complexity of the organisation’s stakeholder network –an interconnected group with differing interests, activities and nationalities. Together they offer hundreds of product offerings which are protected and marketed via exclusive distribution partnerships, licenses, gentlemen’s agreements, business alliances and MoUs, that are more often than not perched on a fine line between cooperation and competition.

FACE AND VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY When asked ‘what is Fleuroselect’s value?’, members profess it is that the organisation represents the ‘face and voice of the industry’ or that it offers ‘protection’, ‘promotion’, ‘a community’, ‘networking’,

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HONORARY MEMBERSHIP

Jean-François Ignasse (left), Sales Manager Europe at PanAmerican Seed together with Anne Leventry (third from left), President PanAmerican Seed and Ruud Brinkkemper (right), General Manager Kieft Seed Europe, stepped forward to accept the Medal for Leucanthemum superbum Madonna. ‘professional development’ and ‘access to products’. However, there is an underlying tension with regard to what other terms such as ‘respect’ and ‘shared values’ have come to mean in an economic environment filled with mergers and acquisitions – changes that frequently shift the balance of power in distribution channel relationships. Some attendees expressed their mistrust for the ‘titans’ of industry who establish integrated supply arrangements and give a single distributor, or a selected group of distributors, all their business in a particular product category. “Major players continue to aggressively outgrow the competition in order to maximise their market share, leaving small to medium sized family businesses struggling to keep their presence in the young plant market. Product portfolios are nearly the same for all young plant suppliers, making it difficult for the smaller players to differentiate themselves in the marketplace,” voiced one disgruntled plant propagator. Speaking with other delegates, the common view was that huge amounts of financial capital, brought in by multinational companies and private equity firms, have only widened the gap between large and small companies. Large companies can afford to hire experts for highly specialised tasks and can fund either state-of-the-art research facilities dedicated to modern plant breeding or individual

departments for drafting patents and ensuring regulatory compliance. This is beyond the resources of smaller scaled businesses. “My view is that this does not create an uneven playing field, but the bigger companies of course have a lot of competitive advantages. There is still room for the small player, who can be highly focused and specialised in offering unique products and services. The barrier to entry in the sector is not prohibitive for the smaller player to develop a successful space in the market,” says Fleuroselect board member Dominic Lacey. He adds, “As an organisation, Fleuroselect must be very clear as to what its membership wants and to have very clearly defined boundaries of operation: to understand its position with respect to other industry organisations such as CIOPORA and Plantum for example. For me, the big question for Fleuroselect is how to continue to stay relevant and deliver value to its membership. Floriculture is very much a global industry and the emerging markets are the key drivers of growth for many of the member companies. How Fleuroselect, which to date has had a core base in Europe, embraces and supports its members, particularly in Asia, whilst attracting a more diverse global membership is key. Alongside this, broadening its membership amongst other ornamentals sectors will be important.”

Pictured left to right are Karol Pawlack, Jean François Ignasse, Jacques de Vroomen and Ann Jennen.

Fleuroselect awarded honorary membership to Jean François Ignasse and Jacques de Vroomen a retired seedman and perennial plantsman respectively. Ignasse was honoured for his participation on the board of directors, his vice and interim presidency (after the sudden death of Herman Hamer in 2016) and his role as Fleuroselect judge. Jacques de Vroomen received Fleuroselect’s Honorary Membership for his role as treasurer, keeping an eagle eye on the organisation’s liquidity for over 12 years. De Vroomen who previously also served as managing director of Syngenta Benelux and Dekker Chrysanten will be succeeded by Hans Durieux. The evening was rounded off with a performance of a Helen Fischer lookalike and a 1980s tribute disco which lasted until the early hours. The social programme was carefully prepared and executed by the Fleuroselect team, consisting of Sally van der Horst, Ann Jennen and Ellen Hazenoot. Unfortunately, Sally van der Horst was unable to attend this year’s convention.

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CONVENTION

TRICKY FAMILY DYNAMICS Meanwhile, the questionable behaviour of companies copying each other’s lengthy plant breeding programme hasn’t helped matters. It’s clear that Fleuroselect family dynamics can be tricky. As one attendee put it, “It’s not nice to gather around the Fleuroselect dinner table and then encounter each other the next day in a court room but unfortunately this can be the reality.” Another big topic that the Fleuroselect group discussed was automation to combat labour shortages and the subsequent quandary about whether to choose robotic planters or other automated transplanting systems. The dilemma of the Chinese market was also debated – untapping the potential of the Chinese market versus the risk of IP infringement. Another commonly shared experience of the Fleuroselect group is the increasing pressure to demonstrate supply chain sustainability and a concern for the still unclear impact of the European courts’ decision to regulate gene edited organisms as GMOs. However, there was a consensus that biotech is playing an increasingly important role in the improvement of the characteristics of animals and plants, including ornamentals. Sooner or later, these new techniques will also be incorporated into plant breeding. In the light of the recent acquisition of UK bedding plant grower Bridge Farm by Canadian cannabis producer Sundial Growers Inc., it was surprising that little was spoken about the challenges and opportunities of growing medicinal cannabis and the possible impact for the bedding plant industry. However, the 2020 convention will cover interesting cannabidoil (CBD) production from Cannabis. Meanwhile, the demand for bedding plants and perennials is out there along the entire length of the supply chain. In casual conversations with suppliers of everything from Ageratum to Zinnia reports of this years’ business have been reasonably good – strong even. In fact, it’s never been a better time to be in the seed trade and young plant business, what with

eco-conscious-consumerism, grow-your-own and urban greenery trends.

KASSEL AND BENARY: THE PERFECT HOSTS Chosen to host the 2019 Fleuroselect Convention was Kassel, a central German town of 200,000 inhabitants and home to Grimmwelt (a museum on the brothers Grimm), many palaces and parks (including the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Germany’s national horticultural exhibition BUGA in 1955 and 1981. The convention followed its usual

formula with a welcome reception at the Schlosshotel Wilhelmshöhe, the main conference hotel, on July 2. Co-hosting and sponsoring the event was Benary, Germany’s leading distributor of flower seeds. On day two of the convention, Klaudia Benary Redlefsen’s company presentation was a real highlight. While Fleuroselect will celebrate its official 50th anniversary in 2020, it was in Frankfurt that the inaugural first convention took place in 1970. It was therefore fitting that the 50th convention came back to Germany, especially as Friedrich Benary, grandfather of Benary’s current

GOLDEN JUBILEE Next year, Fleuroselect will celebrate its Golden Jubilee in Amsterdam, June 30-July 2, 2020. The programme will include visits to floriculture’s experience centre FloriWorld in Aalsmeer which is currently under construction and the Historical Garden Aalsmeer, a garden which provides an excellent overview of the development of horticulture in Aalsmeer from 1600 to 1940. Looking ahead to 2021, the board’s proposal to host the convention in China was warmly received by the delegates and it is a clear strategy of Fleuroselect to develop a stronger presence and representation in Asia. New Fleuroselect members Anthony Tse (left) and Lawrence Tse (right) from China-based Clover Seed were delighted to hear Fleuroselect’s 2021 convention will be held in China.

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

ties only’ and ‘not yet introduced’, and ‘naturally bred by Fleuroselect’s membership’. The trials are a side by side comparison with at least one benchmark variety for the species and group to which the novelty belongs grown alongside. Based on the 2019 results, the Gold Medal winners for 2021 (the year they will become commercially available) will be revealed early next year. The trials also showed the 2019 Gold Medal and FleuroStar winners. During lunch, guest speaker Hamish Taylor, whose career includes international consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble, consultancy firm Price Waterhouse, British Airways, Eurostar and Sainsbury’s Bank, provided insights on the customer promise and marketing. “The audience of flower seed industry leaders was inspired to think about their business in a different light, I certainly was. Overall, Benary put on an excellent convention and the team should be very proud of the showcase that they gave,” commented Dominic Lacey.

Fleuroselect judges discuss newly entered varieties.

GALA DINNER

Fleuroselect President Karol Pawlack congratulated Helen Fisher’s lookalike with her performance. owner Klaudia Benary-Redlefsen was at that founding meeting alongside the great seedsmen of his day.

EDUCATIONAL TOUR On day two, July 4, Benary hosted an educational tour of its premises in Hann Muenden. Under a bright blue summer sky the delegates were able to enjoy Benary’s extensive trial fields. A panel of expert judges inspected the best of Fleuroselect blooms, with members hoping to win the coveted Fleuroselect Gold Medals for 2021. Entries included ‘novel-

FLEUROSELECT QUICK FACTS The seed for Fleuroselect was sown in 1970 as a response to a long standing demand for protection of breeders’ open pollinated varieties. Fleuroselect is a not-for-profit international organisation, serving 75 breeders, producers and distributors of ornamental varieties with headquarters in Voorhout, Netherlands. Fleuroselect aims to test and evaluate new pot and bedding plants, promote award winners, protect member varieties, network with each other and contribute to the development and advancement of the industry as a whole. Fleuroselect comprises four business units, each providing for specific needs within the industry: Breeders, Production & Distribution, Home Gardening and Protection. The organisation is financed by contributions for membership, fees for trials and novelty protection and by royalties on the turnover of awarded varieties. Activities such as policing of illegally reproduced cuttings, market surveys of seedling and cutting sales and networking conferences are self-funded.

Klaudia Benary Redlefsen’s company presentation was a real highlight.

With the day’s event rounded off, prayers (!), a gala dinner and dancing were the order of the evening held in the Alte Brüderkirche in down town Kassel on July 4. The gala dinner was also the occasion for announcing the 2019 Fleuroselect Gold Medal winners. This year, the newly appointed Fleuroselect President Karol Pawlack was pleased to be able to give out three Fleuroselect Gold Medals to varieties that have been tested by independent judges at trial grounds across Europe and proven to clearly supersede existing varieties in terms of breeding innovation and beauty. This year’s winners, available to wholesale as of 2019 and retail as of 2020, included seed-raised PanAmerican’s Leucanthemum x superbum Madonna, Takii/Sahin’s Tropaeolum minus Baby Rose and Van Hemert& Co’s Silene pendula Sibellla Carmine. Beekenkamp’s Marc Driessen was presented with the 2019 FleuroStar award for Begonia eliator Dreams Garden MacaRouge.

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CONVENTION

Begonia x benariensis BIG. In 2009, the company acquired Bodger Seeds from the USA followed one year later by the opening of Benary Netherlands in Venhuizen. Along the way seed production facilities in Guatemala and Chile were added while 2016 saw JinPin Flower Seedling from China and Benary start a joint venture in young plant production and distribution in Chengdu.

HONOUR

Klaudia and her husband Matthias on the company’s trial grounds.

Attendees agreed that Benary put on an excellent Fleuroselect convention. Klaudia Benary Redlefsen’s presentation on her company’s

AUTHOR: RON VAN DER PLOEG

history was a real highlight.

Passion matched with perseverance

he Benary story is very moving in that it is written in great detail and with sensitivity. It shows how spirit, determination and perseverance can help when unforeseen circumstances force you to rebuild your business again from scratch. It is also a tribute to all other horticultural entrepreneurs who have succeeded through perseverance. Let’s not forget, for example, the then 60-year old Pelargonium breeder and grower Walter Silze who, on May 1,1960, fled Dresden to create a new life in Papenburg, in what was then West Germany.

BREEDING BREAKTHROUGHS When Ernst Benary founded his company in Erfurt in 1843 he knew he loved plants but had no idea of the impact and market that would follow. He started to produce

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

vegetable and flower seed with Zinnia elegans ‘Benary’s Giant’ marking the beginning of a long line of breeding breakthroughs. At the turn of the 20th century, under Ernst’s sons, second generation Friedrich and John, business at home and abroad continued to grow and evolve as the breeder and propagator gained popularity thanks to the world’s first F1 fibrous begonia Begonia x semperflorens Primadonna.

WORLD WAR I AND II World War I almost resulted in financial ruin. Among the allies fighting against the Central Powers (Germany, Austria Hungary and later the Ottoman Empire) were Serbia, Montenegro but also ‘Benary customers’ such as Russia, France and Britain. These countries stopped trading with Germany. The loss of population in Thuringen

coupled with hunger and a severe economic crisis presented huge additional challenges. However, third generation Ernst Benary II and Heinrich Benary persevered and decided to focus on the production of desperately needed vegetable seeds. The Interbellum saw the arrival of the Benary’s first F1 hybrid tomato Heterosis in 1927 and the opening of new export markets. But the worst was yet to come as Benary had Jewish roots and Hitler assumed power in 1933. To avoid prosecution, most members of the Benary family and company staff joined the army. By the end of the war the toll was heavy: seven of the nine brothers had been killed.

FRITZ BENARY Fourth generation Fritz Benary was fortunate enough to survive the war. He returned to Erfurt in 1945 where

he found his home and company relatively intact despite the Russian occupation. Only four years later the German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet zone and Benary KG –at that time employing over 289 employees, was disowned by the East German government in 1952. Fritz fled the country, forced to leave behind what three generations of Benary had built up. He set up a new business in Hannoversch Munden, rebuilt stock and expanded its customer base by visiting clients by bicycle. In 1979, when Fritz suddenly passed away, his brother Rudolf took over adding new breeding facilities to the company. In 1994, fifth generation Ernst Gunter Benary caused a stir as he was the first Benary to appoint an external manager. The years 2005/2006 once again brought new blood into the family firm when Nick ten Pas and Klaudia’s husband Matthias Redlefsen joined the company. Meanwhile sixth generation Klaudia Benary-Redlefsen became the majority shareholder.

REORGANISATION IN ORDER TO BE BIG From 2007 to 2011, the company reorganised, closing locations in Azores, Austria and Germany. 2008 saw the launch of the iconic

Klaudia and her husband Matthias told FCI that having the Fleuroselect family meeting at Benary’s headquarters is special in many ways. “Normally everyone meets at FlowerTrials so it’s not very often that members come over to Hann Muenden for a visit. Moreover, this is the organisation’s 50th AGM and Klaudia’s grandfather Fritz, thinker and doer, was involved in the foundation of Fleuroselect in Frankfurt in 1970. So it’s quite emotional for us to be the host of the convention fifty years later. It’s really an honour,” says Matthias Redlefsen. Fritz’ property was confiscated by the East German government in 1952. Pondering over the risks Fritz Benary was willing to take Klaudia says, “Fritz demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit, being convinced that under Russian occupation they would not be able to do business. What also helped was the fact that my grandfather had travelled to Hann Muenden before. Initially the idea was to develop it as a subsidiary so he knew more or less where he was fleeing to on June 22, 1945. The rest of the family joined him in 1951. Overall, he had a clear goal. The decision to move to Hann was not impulsive and the destination not

unknown.”

TRICKY TIME Following the reunification of Germany Benary made an attempt to reclaim their Erfurt property they had lost under the GDR. “That was a tricky time,” Matthias recalls. “Fritz had already passed away. It was a lose-lose situation. In Erfurt, everyone was expecting us to come back while here in Hann Muenden we were already employing over 100 people who of course wanted us to stay. It took a while but slowly we realised that history had brought us to Hann Muenden. Our employees are our greatest asset each with their own set of skills, and we realised that we simply could not move to Erfurt.” Eventually the case was resolved. “Today, Erfurt’s horticultural school is located in Benary’s former HQ with whom I maintain a close friendship. They renamed themselves the Ernst Benary school recognising Ernst’s legacy and the strong relationship between themselves and our company.”

BUSINESS GOALS Next to playing the perfect host with lovely food, drinks and tourist outings, the Benary’s believe that the Fleuroselect Convention serves a clear business goal. “Fleuroselect aims to enable our industry to have a collective voice,” explains Matthias. He continues, “Fleurostar is just a perfect example of how to gain credibility because amongst Fleuroselect members there’s such an incredible amount of knowledge. The voice of the industry can always be stronger but Fleuroselect’s brand recognition is definitely much stronger among finished plant growers than it was 15 years ago.

BENARY QUICK FACTS - Benary operates from seven locations in all key climates: Germany, Netherlands, California, Illinois, Guatemala, Chile and China. - All Benary locations have been certified by Global GAP since 2017.

- Benary’s export quota is over 90%. More than 50% of the turnover is generated outside of Europe. - Including seasonal staff, Benary employs around 700 people. The majority of all Benaryans work outside Europe.

- Every year Benary sells more than 10 billion flower seeds. This means in theory more than one flower for every person on earth! - Benary is growing: In the last 13 years the company has almost doubled its turnover.

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CONVENTION

Before the organisation was merely known among breeders and a handful of young plant companies.” Matthias stresses that Fleuroselect is doing a very fine job. “Especially for the smaller breeders that don’t have the budget to reach all partners in our supply chain. The second best thing about Fleuroselect is that it protects intellectual property. We allocate 25% of our budget to research so you really want to make sure that you also harvest what you sow. One of Fleuroselect’s purposes is to protect all OP varieties. Fifty years ago, there was a gentlemen’s agreement between breeders promising not to copy each other’s varieties. Today, you can ask for a patent and all sorts of things but it’s still about finding the right balance between the breeder’s freedom to operate and the compensation for your breeding work. Often it can take decades to develop a new variety and a year for someone else to copy it. So you really have to make sure that you are allowed to do that.” Klaudia adds that the Fleuroselect convention is truly a unique happening. “Our industry’s dynamics are very complicated. It’s really useful to gather once a year to build trust and share knowledge and experiences. The Convention is an informal networking event with spouses also attending. Spending a couple of days together really helps build trust.”

CHINA More recently Benary established a joint venture with a Chinese young plant distributor. Over the twenty years Matthias and Klaudia have been active in the Chinese market, they have seen a lot of changes but probably the most important one are the country’s serious efforts to enforce an effective IP rights regime. “They’ve come to understand that if you let things continue as they did 15 years ago, few breeding companies would be ready to deploy commercial activities in China. One is still unable to go into the last pockets of the market but overall there’s more willingness to protect IP. It’s pretty safe to say that we have more IP issues in other European countries than in China,”

CONVENTION

says Matthias. He adds that there’s still a lot of untapped potential in China. “90% of Chinese bedding plants are grown for local authorities. However, while the public landscape segment is levelling off, sales of plants for personal use are on the rise.”

BREEDING GOALS Speaking of the end consumer, at Benary’s guest speaker Hamish Taylor delivered a speech on marketing and customer insights highlighting the importance of hassle free plants of ruthless simplicity. What are the company’s achievements in this? “We are constantly thinking about the lady in the garden centre who buys our plants. However, almost all of our breeding lines serve to solve the problems of the grower. If you succeed in increasing the germination rate of Begonias by 5% or developing a Begonia that can be

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

Attendees at this year’s Fleuroselect convention agreed that Klaudai and Matthias played the perfect host.

grown at two or three degrees less in winter, that’s real money in the pocket for the grower. On the other hand, hassle-free Big Begonias are also benefiting the end consumer. But on the whole, 70% of our breeding goal is something the end consumer will not take notice of.” Gene editing techniques may usher in a new era in plant breeding, with, who knows, a blue Begonia sooner or later. “We have done very classical breeding in the past and between classical breeding work and GMO there’s a large field with unexploited opportunities. Sooner or later gene editing will become a much bigger topic for us. But at this point in time, the cost to apply such technologies are still way too high to apply them to our daily routine.”

BLOOM INSTEAD OF DOOM In conclusion, the outlook for ornamental plant breeding looks pretty rosy, says Matthias who stresses that he prefers to think bloom instead of doom. “New technology allows important changes. All change is good. One thing which is difficult to change is consumer habit or climate but we can change the genetics of our plants. That’s great for us. If there is no real change out there then we have a serious problem. Ultimately it is important to also involve younger generations. Within our company, we have set up a think tank of young employees who meet on a regular basis. They tell us what they think, what they buy and what keeps them busy and what they are afraid of.”

TURKISH FLOWERS

Bringing colors to your life For more information: www.turkishflowers.org www.turkishornamentalplants.org

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LO G I ST I C S

AIR FRANCE-KLM CARGO GOES FULL THROTTLE DESPITE STRONG HEADWINDS While growth in global trade and demand for air freight is stalling, Air France-KLM Cargo is going full throttle to further adopt technology-driven innovation. “The capability of processing massive amounts of data will help bolster our market position in time and temperature-sensitive goods such as fresh cut flowers,” says Eric Mauroux, the airline’s global head of perishables, adding that supply chain collaboration can create (loading) efficiencies that will benefit the entire

AUTHOR: RON VAN DER PLOEG

industry.

BREAD AND BUTTER In a global context, perishables represent 16% of all air cargo. Perishables have an even bigger share ( 25%) at Air France-KLM, says Eric Mauroux. “They are our bread and butter, at 30%, they are even more dominant at KLM as the Netherlands has a long tradition in horticulture. Fresh is what defines us as a company. When industry professionals think of Air France-KLM Cargo, they picture planes with perishables first. While flowers are vital to KLM, fish and fresh produce are ‘frequent travellers’ on board of

Commenting on the first six months of 2019, Mauroux says, “After the highs of 2017 and the first months of 2018 with record figures of up to 10% growth there were signs that the market was starting to cool by the end of 2018, a situation which has now been confirmed by all actors of the supply chain.” He foresees more turbulent times ahead for air cargo as global economic activity and consumer confidence weaken and geopolitical tensions disturb markets. In keeping with tradition of what has been noted over the past seven years, perishable products can cushion air cargo when it faces strong headwinds. “When there’s an uplift in air freight demand perishables tend to bear the brunt of the pressure due to the lack of affordable air cargo space. Now that that demand is shrinking, capacity increases and this results in a strong and steady growth for the perishables sector. However, more generally speaking, it’s an extremely competitive business environment out there.”

ccording to the Global Shippers Forum (GSF) freight is an important indicator of global trade trends and although air freight takes up only a small proportion of all freight by tonnage (2-3%) it can represent a significant amount of a country’s total imports and exports by value, between 30 to 40% in many advanced economies. Vital for transporting high value and perishable goods, with speed air transport offers a much faster shipping method than sea freight or road transport. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that volume of cargo carried in 2018 rose to 62.5 million tonnes (+4.5% on 59.9 million tonnes in 2017) representing less than 1% of world trade by volume, but over 35% by value. The value of goods carried by airlines exceeded $6.2 trillion in 2018, representing 7.4% of the world GDP.

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

Air France aircraft. In 1990, Air France acquired ‘DC-10 operator,’ and my former employer, UTA, then one of the major air cargo companies that relied on a large cargo network in Africa. And naturally perishables are what you carry most out of Africa.“ In 2018, the airline’s cargo volumes decreased by 0.1% compared to 2017 to 1.14m tonnes, while revenues increased by 4.1% to reach 2,288m euros. In terms of volume, Ecuador, Kenya, Colombia and the Netherlands are the company’s four major ‘flower routes’ . In Kenya alone, Air France-KLM Cargo ships around 18,000 tonnes of fresh flowers to Amsterdam.

Eric Mauroux, global head of perishables at Air France KLM Cargo.

winter temperatures is likely to be eight times less than flower production in a greenhouse during the gloomy and chilly winters in the Northern hemisphere , even if you include the movement of goods by air.” Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is only one important element – the aviation industry is always keen to point out that planes account for only around 1 to 3% of global CO2 emissions. “Consumers and policy makers are often unaware of the societal impact. From a development and poverty reduction angle, commercial flower production in Kenya, for instance, has been a success story with the sector employing over 90,000 people.” Mauroux sees room for improving the quality of the dialogue with discussions and decisions based on accurate information. True sustainability might start with a different mindset, he says, referencing KLM boss Pieter Elbers’ recent comments on the environmental footprint of passenger air travel. “Enjoy, but fly with moderation is what Mr Elbers said in an interview with a Dutch newspaper.”

MISPERCEPTIONS Sustainable growth is the company’s top priority which means a rate of growth which can be maintained without creating significant economic problems, especially for future generations. “Consumers have become more demanding and sceptical when it comes to brand credibility. Unfortunately there are a lot of misperceptions and prejudices with regard to air-freight products. Taking a broader view, everyone in our industry knows that the environmental impact of growing, for example, cut flowers in a country with a sun-drenched climate and benign

PROFITABLE SUSTAINABILITY He is quick to add that sustainability costs money and is worthless when it doesn’t work for businesses too. “We must ensure that our business model is profitable by flying with greener planes, choosing the right trade lanes, the right balance between origin and destination airports.” Operating economically sound round trips remains a challenge as there’s not always sufficient cargo. “Taking off from Kenya means you have to go there first, so in terms of southbound flights you need to find the

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LO G I ST I C S

HFA’S FIRST EXERCISE WAS TO HACK ITS WAY THROUGH THE JUNGLE OF OVER 500 DIFFERENT TYPES OF BOXES, WHICH RESULTED IN THE FLOWERBOX

value proposition. Bottom line is the value of a flower is in its shelf life. A prolonged shelf life reduces product waste and will lead to return purchases. “What was missing was an objective assessment of that quality and, therefore, we teamed up with cold-chain management expert Flowerwatch from the Netherlands to develop a KPI indicator, called ‘degree hour’,” says Mauroux. He continues, “This is the average temperature of fresh flowers multiplied by the number of hours they’re under way (1 degree hour = 1 hour x 1°). Every 500 degree hours reduces vase life by one day. The industry benchmark is a cold chain in which there is no more than a one day loss of vase life. Thanks to the Flowerwatch seal of approval we now carry flowers out of Colombia to Amsterdam at 300 degree hours generating one additional day of vase life. For the same type of shipment, the degrees hours of our competitors are 500.”

DATA EXCHANGE

Mauroux anticipates his company will become increasingly reliant on belly freight for certain routes.

right circular flights to make these types of operations profitable.” Profitability and sustainability go hand in hand. Over the past few years, air cargo firms have sought lasting cost cuts following a significant decline in freight prices. Air France-KLM Cargo trimmed its cargo fleet to battle overcapacity and become more eco-friendly. It retired its fuel-guzzling MD-11s amid goals to drop the total amount of carbon emissions it produces by 20% in the year 2020 (compared to its 2011 levels). Mauroux anticipates his company will become increasingly reliant on belly freight for certain routes, as is the case with many other carriers around the world. “You need freighters in specific countries such as Ecuador with altitude constraints and subsequent pallet restrictions. For other routes and destinations, passenger aircrafts offer plenty of airfreight capacity, especially the new type of aircrafts like Boeing Triple Seven and Dreamliners that can carry an extra 20 tonnes.”

USA AND CHINA Meanwhile it is no secret that African flower exporters would like to break into the US and Chinese markets. Mauroux: “It is true that the highest growth in flower sales is predicted in the USA and Asia but the situation on each continent is different. North America is already heavily supplied by South America. Official figures reveal that there’s a 6% growth in North America but in terms of tonnage flower shipments between Kenya and the USA are not very spectacular.”

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

There are barriers. Transporting Kenyan flowers to Miami - a stopover in Europe or the Middle East is a costly exercise as on these route flowers are competing with another type of goods. “You need to get access to capacity and therefore there is an impact on the yield. The question is whether the market is ready to bear these costs. Also, when you look at the direct lift available from Kenya to the USA it is limited. Kenyan Airways has begun direct flights to New York but to develop exports you need a certain critical mass and will this lift then be sufficient? I think African exporters need to be in a position where they can compete with flowers from Latin America, grown close to market and benefiting from daily direct lifts from Bogotá and Quito.” Asia, and China in particular, could be other interesting export ventures for African and Latin American flower growers. Here, the big question is how to reach sustainable growth on Asian routes. “There is clearly a demand for fresh cut flowers in China and Asia as a whole. However, China itself is also a major flower producer. How long will they source flowers from outside? Meanwhile, we expect some growth in China in the coming ten years. Air France-KLM Cargo has 26 flights to Shanghai at its disposition weekly. These carry a lot of flowers, not only to China but also to Australia thanks to our partnership with China Southern.”

IMPROVING VALUE PROPOSITION To maintain its leading position in perishables , Air France-KLM Cargo continuously seeks to improve its

Pondering the damage that is being done to the reputation of the aviation industry and worldwide economies due to delays and flight cancellations Mauroux says there are more tools to differentiate yourself from competitors such as LAN, Atlas and Cargolux. Enabling modern processes with digitalisation, cold chain transparency, data exchange and crunching will help build a stronger market presence in the transport of time- and temperature-sensitive goods such as pharmaceuticals and perishables. “In Colombia, we have set up this ‘ecosystem’, which includes a breeder, one of the country’s biggest flower farms near Bogotá, freight forwarders, airport authorities, airlines, wholesalers and importing retail business in Europe. We have asked ourselves how to create additional value in the chain. Everyone looks at it from a different angle- a breeder will make sure that his newest flower variety has excellent shelf life, while a retailer will use his understanding of the cold chain in marketing.“ In a highly fragmented interdependent business such as flowers, Mauroux urges the industry to get well-organised. “As an industry we must be able to communicate the hard facts. Otherwise we will never progress and improve.”

HOLLAND FLOWER ALLIANCE Mauroux subscribes to his adage ‘when you take preventive measures upfront you can gain a lot’. The same philosophy is shared by the Holland Flower Alliance (HFA), a partnership between Air France-KLM Cargo, Royal FloraHolland and Amsterdam Schiphol airport, established three years ago. HFA’s first exercise was to hack its way through the jungle of over

500 different types of boxes, which resulted in the Flowerbox. “The Flowerbox is a prime example of standardised packaging allowing for increased loading efficiency of pallets and significantly fewer degree hours. In a broader context, HFA organises every aspect of what we call the ‘journey of a flower’ from a farm in Kenya to FloraHolland in the Netherlands. In ‘pilot journeys’, real time GPS tracking provides visibility of both the shipment data (size of the shipment, flower type, number of stems per box) , progress and product quality.”

SLOT CONSTRAINED AIRPORTS Supply chain optimisation is not a luxury in a world with slot-constrained mega airports. For Amsterdam Schiphol Airport for example the ‘Covenants on the future development of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport’ stipulate that the airport cannot exceed the 500,000 Air Traffic Movement a year. “I am not sure whether I am the most qualified person to comment on this. Slot limitations are a fixed parameter for airlines, especially where your home base is concerned. Twice a year allocation of slots is like a giant jigsaw puzzle. As a result of increased passenger traffic worldwide and a new generation of aircraft, increased capacity on these aircraft allows for more cargo capacity. All in all, I would say slots are not the main issue when it comes to moving perishables on Air France-KLM Cargo, not even during peak periods. “ Speaking of cold chain optimisation and transparency, Mauroux sees little additional value in a web based air cargo search engine, a kind of booking.com for air cargo. “There are some initiatives such as webcargo but I am not an expert to comment on it. Of course it is nice and handy to go to booking. com because you can compare rates and locations. However, the criteria in the air cargo industry are slightly different. We usually speak about long-term relationships. While you can easily shop around in other types of businesses, perishables are quite a close-knit family. Booking.com is nice to have, but it’s not for us.”

SEA FREIGHT Commenting on the potential of sea transport of flowers, Eric Mauroux says, “Please excuse me for being a bit sarcastic. When you look at the different trade lanes and modality for sea freight, there’s only one that I know of and that is Colombia. In Colombia, it seems to work with sea freight being much related to the US market, although there are also flows to the UK. We all know certain types of flowers show no ill effects from sea voyages and it also depends in which market segment flowers are sold. As far as I am concerned - and I think I can speak on good authority as I was working in flower logistics in Colombia and Ecuador for several years – I haven’t seen it taking off. Usually, there’s a lot of marketing muscle and soft technicity behind it using terms such as ‘sleeping flowers’ which looks nice on paper but in reality is more challenging. Sea freight also involves higher risks as food containers will always be given priority.”

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LO G I ST I C S

COLOMBIA SAILS AHEAD IN SEA TRANSPORT OF CUT FLOWERS The conversation in Colombia is everywhere: is maritime transport cheaper and more efficient for cut flowers? Will it replace airfreight? Will it impact the industry down to the production process? FCI set out

AUTHOR: MARTA PIZANO

to find answers to these and other questions.

aritime transport of cut flowers exported from Colombia has increased dramatically in the past two years, particularly to the United States. Whilst sea transport of cut flowers is not new – good experience with this system was developed over the past decade with exports to Europe and Asia at very competitive costs as compared to airfreight - the US gateway, however, had remained largely unexplored.

HURRICANES “Hurricanes played a major role,” says Sergio Maldonado, an experienced flower producer, exporter and cargo handler, presently operating his own company (Servicio Logístico Multimodal). He adds, “Together with constrained capacity and increasing prices of airfreight, hurricanes Irma in 2017 and Michael in 2018 caused challenges for flower exporters to get their products to the required destinations in time.” Other weather extremes near Valentine’s Day surely added to this.

BUSINESS CONSOLIDATION “An important factor has been business consolidation”, added Camila Camacho of Royal FloraHolland. A pioneer in maritime transport at the beginning of this decade, the Dutch auction is no longer offering this service, “but we continue to keep our eyes on its development as we may get back into this business soon,” she states. “Mergers and growth have led to the emergence of larger companies. These companies are able to fill entire containers with their own product,” explains Camila. They first started looking at Europe and Asia (e.g. Japan) but soon realised the USA was an excellent prospect too. “Some companies, such as Sergio’s also work in consolidating products from smaller companies; this is more challenging but is still a good option.”

NEAR PERFECT COLD CHAIN Containers are packed directly in the cold rooms, chilled to the appropriate temperature (1-2º C),

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

atmosphere-controlled and then boarded on trucks that take them to ports on the Caribbean coast of Colombia – Santa Marta or Cartagena – where they are loaded onto ships taking them to Miami. Phytosanitary inspection by Colombian agricultural authorities is almost entirely done at origin, before flowers are packed, and DEA inspection (for prevention of illicit drug trafficking to the US) is undertaken at the port using top of the line scanners that do not require containers to be opened. This allows for a near perfect cold chain, which directly and very positively impacts flower quality and shelf-life. “Although cost reduction in freight to the USA is only about 15%”, says Camila, adding that for other markets such as Europe or Asia it may be around 40%, “maritime transport offers a clear edge when it comes to consistent flower quality.”

MARITIME TRANSPORT DOUBLED

TABLE 1. COMPARISON OF CUT FLOWER EXPORTS FROM COLOMBIA SHIPPED BY SEA, BY MARKET, 2018-2019 MARKET

JAN – MAY 2018

JAN – MAY 2019

% VARIATION 2018/2019

% SHARE IN 2019

TONS

TEUS*

TONS

TEUS*

TONS

TEUS*

TONS

TEUS*

USA

2,205

385

5,108

852

>100%

49.6%

40.8%

3,031

548

2,966

658

-2.1%

20.1%

28.8%

31.5%

Chile

1,384

304

1,554

362

12.3%

19.1%

15.1%

17.4% 2.8%

Australia

263

248

-5.5%

16.0%

2.4%

Japan

266

166

-37.8%

1.6%

2.7%

Spain

69.4%

65.6%

0.9%

2.5%

Other TOTAL

262

166

-36.6%

-33.8%

1.6%

2.3%

7,463

1,480

10,298

2,086

38.0%

40.9%

100%

feeling the increased activity, requiring US Customs and Border Protection to provide additional phytosanitary inspection services. However, “even if it seems to make more sense for ships to go on to ports further north such as Philadelphia or New York, thereby reducing the need for ground transport, flower distribution works better when using Miami,” states Sergio. Simply put, he says, “Miami is, by tradition, the best place to trade flowers, with all facilities and infrastruc-

According to ASOCOLFLORES (the Colombian Association of Flower Growers and Exporters), maritime transport of flowers from Colombia to the USA more than doubled in the period January to May 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. At the same time, other markets where sea transport appeared to be growing in the past reveal a declining tendency, as shown in the table 1.

ture at hand for efficient entry into the USA, handling and delivery.” In conclusion, maritime transport is becoming an efficient alternative for cut flower transport, and its use for the US market will most probably continue to increase in the near future. However, air transport will continue to be essential, as e-commerce and immediate orders hold a prominent place in the market. It’s a question of striking the right balance.

* Twenty-foot Equivalent Units. Metric tons. Source: ASOCOLFLORES, 2019

GROW LIKE A PRO

MEETING PEAK DEMAND How is the industry as a whole adapting to this change? There are various challenges. On the one hand, meeting peak consumption dates such as Valentines’ and Mothers’ Day is different: flowers shipped by sea take much longer to reach consumers than those shipped by air (on average, 6-8 days vs 18-20 days), so peak harvesting needs to be done earlier. This fits in well with mass marketers who plan ahead of time, within organised schedules, but what if, for example, flower opening is delayed due to climatic conditions, or last minute orders arise? “There is airfreight for that”, Camila replies, “airfreight will always play an important role in this business.” The trick is to strike a good balance between sea and air, which in fact takes off the pressure of aiming for a peak harvest to satisfy consumers on a single day.

Over 20 years of experience in horticulture

CAPACITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE Another challenge is ground transport: Colombian roads are difficult, and there is no transport by train or river; this adds time and increases the shipping tag. Yet another challenge is port installed capacity and infrastructure. However, great strides have been taken at Santa Marta and Cartagena, which now boast dozens of decks with top of the line technology and service. At the other end, the port of Miami is said to also be

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LO G I ST I C S

Africa to the entire world with its bespoke service to 36 countries across Africa and a total of 54 destinations. It is obvious that Valentine’s Day, Women’s Day (8 March) and Mother’s Day are the times of peak demand,” stresses Cigal.

USA AND CHINA

AUTHOR: RON VAN DER PLOEG

TURKISH CARGO’S TRADE LANES ARE PAVED WITH FLOWERS In a conversation with FCI, Fatih Cigal, senior vice president marketing at Turkish Cargo talks about maintaining a leading position in the highly competitive world of air freight.

o far, Turkish Cargo has had a bumper year rising to 7th spot in the WACD (World Aircargo Data) with a 9.6% increase in its tonnage during January and February 2019 and winning the ‘Cargo Airline of the Year’ at the Air Cargo News awards in the UK in May.

RIGHT ON TRACK Cigal reports that the company is right on track to achieve its growth ambitions. “Best practices and technological innovations in the air cargo industry offer freight forwarders and their customers improved efficiency, transparency plus a reduction of costs and transportation times. For the transportation of perishable goods such as flowers, Turkish Cargo is committed to maintaining a fast and uninterrupted cold chain to ensure flowers do not degrade and thereby lose value during the critical period between harvest and sale,” he says.

RESPONSIVE SERVICE Turkish Cargo carried a total of 1.4 million tons of cargo in 2018. Air cargo transportation is growing globally and is increasingly dominant in the intercontinental transportation of flowers. “Turkish Cargo ensures a

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

high quality and responsive service, offering customers different climate zones in a total of 43 cargo sections available on board the aircraft. Chargeable weight of flowers transported in 2018 is more than 20,000 tonnes and has increased by 80% compared to 2017,” outlines Cigal. Currently, Turkish Cargo’s major flower route (more than 8,000 tons of flowers) is Nairobi – Maastricht. The company’s second main lane is from Entebbe and Quito to Maastricht with the majority of flowers carried by jumbo freighters such as 747 and 777.

In recent years Northeast Africa has emerged as one of the world’s major flower exporters. Kenya, for example, is adjudged the fourth largest exporter of cut flowers in the world after the Netherlands, Colombia and Ecuador. An upswing in global production is pushing the continent to seek new markets. “China and the USA have emerged as potential destinations especially for high value roses. Japan, Australia, Turkey and Russia are also potential markets,” explains Cigal. He thinks that in the future we might see a growing number of African flower growers collaborating with African authorities to strike better agreements with China and the USA, despite challenges such as high tariffs that have prevented growth and trade. “However, volumes alone are not enough to ensure sustainable growth. An efficient supply chain is equally important and Turkish Cargo are heavily investing in this field. At the new Istanbul Airport, which opened in April this year, we are building one of the biggest and smartest cargo terminals in the world: SMARTIST. The terminal includes a 5,000m2 constant-climate perishable centre. Here we will provide a reliable service without interrupting the integrity of cold chain. Turkish Cargo’s extensive network and increasing capacity will support the global flower trade. With additional aircrafts; high flight frequency; sophisticated special cargo products and services; dedicated and trained staff and our 2023 vision we can offer a more efficient service.” According to Cigal, Kenya’s cut flowers are currently sold to a single economic block, the European Union, exposing export trade to vulnerabilities. “As for the Chinese market, most Kenyan flowers reach China via the Netherlands-based international flower auction. Direct trade flows are still a challenge since only Kenya Airways, through its code share with China Southern Airlines, flies directly to Guangzhou. Turkish Cargo will assist Kenyan growers breaking into the Chinese market by providing wide-bodied passenger flights and freighters operated via our HUB Istanbul with short connection time and QRT services provided on the ramp.”

MIAMI LOVE IS IN THE AIR “Love is literally in the air in the run up to Valentine’s Day,” says Cigal. He continues, “This year, we carried flowers to all four corners of the globe using additional charter flights departing from Nairobi, Quito and Bogotá.” The reputable air cargo brand carried nearly 4,000 tons of flowers between January 1 - February 10, 2019 with flights to a number of global destinations: Nairobi to Stansted, Narita, Maastricht and Riyadh and Quito to Amsterdam, Beijing, Manila, Jakarta and Chinese Taipei. These, of course are in addition to the airlines’ passenger flights. “Turkish Cargo carries flowers from

To unlock the potential of the North American market for cut flowers, Turkish Cargo must bolster its position in Miami International Airport (MIA handles 90% of the fresh flowers imported per year). Cigal: “Miami Airport is the largest in the United States and ranked 10th in the international cargo market, standing out for the capacity of its supply chain in handling perishable goods, which represents 47 percent of the international transit cargo. Miami is known for its cargo potential for fresh flowers, perishable fruits and vegetables, high technology products, telecommunication equipment and aircraft parts. Since 2018, Turkish Cargo has connected Miami to 120 countries and over 300 destinations with

For the transportation of perishable goods such as flowers, Turkish Cargo is committed to maintaining a fast and uninterrupted cold chain.

its Istanbul-Madrid-Miami departing cargo flights and Miami-Houston-İstanbul returns. In addition to daily-operated wide-body passenger flights. The move means that our company will offer services to and from five destinations in the US; Miami and Houston through the new freighter operation and Chicago, Atlanta and New York through belly hold capacity. In total, the airline will now offer 220 tons of weekly capacity to the US, with 100 tons provided through the new freighter operation. We are aware of Miami’s potential and eager to reach the same success we achieved in Africa shortly in the USA.”

IATA PCR Turkish Cargo operates in accordance with the IATA PCR (Perishable Cargo Regulations), at the GDP compliant Turkish Cargo facilities which are equipped with the highest technology. “Besides our HUB capabilities, we have also signed an SGHA agreement with a QEP (Qualified Envirotainer Provider) certified handling agent at Miami in order to offer our clients the highest perishable service quality and standards. Our Miami team conducts market research to help us develop new business partnerships. We are receiving strong demand signals from the market and we will serve the industry by offering more capacity for the Miami flower market.” In order to keep up with the times, continuous investment in facilities, training and certification schemes is vital. Cigal: “Turkish Cargo is proud to have the latest cold chain technology to ensure temperature conditions are maintained within acceptable limits during transportation.” Transporting flowers from origin to destination by air is an exclusive and specialist service that requires high levels of care and attention. “Flower boxes must be stored in temperature- controlled rooms. Our storage rooms are monitored constantly and the system automatically sends messages in case of any temperature deviation allowing us to take immediate action. Retroactive reporting using a telemetry system is also a service we offer. In addition, there are data loggers in all storage rooms, so we can instantly monitor temperature and humidity.”

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Green City Post

IGOTY 2020 Awards

AUTHOR: DR AUDREY GERBER, TECHNICAL ADVISOR TO AIPH

Understanding a National Park City

Tuesday 28th January 2020, IPM ESSEN

www.aiph.org/igoty2020/ Contact: events@aiph.org

BOOKING DEADLINES: Early Bird tickets 15th November 2019

Corporate Hospitality packages 1st December 2019 EVENT PARTNER

FOUNDING PARTNER

moved on to Urban Forests and Nature-Based Solutions, and now we get designated National Park Cities. What is National Park City (NPC) designation?

he concept of a National Park varies between countries, though is primarily a conservation area, commonly under state ownership, and the impact of people is strictly managed. The NPC introduces a new form of landscape recognition, accepting that much of our modern landscape exists as dynamic interactions between people and the environment, and that the two are inseparable. Part of the motivation is possibly still anthropocentric, however, in that it is now beyond debate that our physical, mental, and emotional well-being depend on quality and quantity of nature, and how deeply we engage with it. Pragmatically speaking, if city populations cannot get

to rural nature, then we must bring nature to citizens. London is the first NPC, and the Greater London NPC Partnership charter declares ambitions for a better quality of life for wildlife and people through proactive commitment from residents, visitors, and decision-makers. In order to achieve NPC status, London gained majority support of their 649 electoral wards. The support of these smallest and most local political designations strongly implies community support. No new legislative structure empowers this designation. The power of NPC status to effect change relies on the how well the programme motivates and inspires residents. The Greater London NPC Partnership aims to lead on city-wide campaigns, attracting

funding, and building capacity and effectiveness of individuals, communities, and businesses. Perhaps a core strength of NPC designation is that urban greening is addressed at a coherent, connected, landscape scale, creating connectivity and flow within and between green spaces, and with the aspiration that this drives change. Two questions remain to be answered: Will NPC status drive changes in policy that dictate urban greening? Or can cities achieve essential transformation through NPC-empowered community action? The National Park City Foundation aspires to declare 25 NPC by 2025. With little prescribed format for NPCs it will be interesting to see how other cities implement the initiative.

Speaker line-up confirmed for International Green City Conference AUTHOR: PENELOPE TOMKINS

Enjoy a night to ‘Sparkle and Shine’ Book tickets and Corporate Hospitality packages online

Policies and programmes to increase greenery in cities introduced Green Infrastructure, then

The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) International Green City Conference entitled ‘Urban Greening for Clean and Healthy Cities’ takes place on 11th September at the World Ornamental Horticulture Summit 2019 Beijing. The conference will focus on the role of plants in creating cleaner, healthier urban environments. Eight distinguished experts will present a variety of urban greening projects from around the world. The confirmed programme features keynote speaker Professor Yu Xinxiao of Beijing Forestry University who will discuss the ecological principles of plants and trees, their role in Green City development and their impact on improving the quality of the environment and people’s lives. Seven other distinguished speakers complete the full line-up: Mr Yibo Xu, senior architect at Stefano Boeri Architetti (SBA) China; Dr Audrey Gerber,

Technical Advisor to AIPH; Professor Paul Monks of the University of Leicester and chair of the DEFRA air quality expert group; Ms Judith van der Poel of Niek Roozen; Mr Li Zheng, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Chongming District Committee

and Mayor of Chongming District People’s Government; and Mr Gao Dawei, Deputy Director General of the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau. For event and booking information visit www.aiph.org

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PB R FLOWER COLOUR

UPPER PETALS SPOT

SIZE OF PETALS WHITE SPOT LOWER PETAL

Breeders need a broader interpretation of EDV concept Experts in plant breeders’ rights are gearing up for the much-anticipated seminar on the Impact of Policy on Essentially Derived Varieties (EDVs) on Breeding Strategy, hosted by the International

26/28 FEBRUARY 2020

AUTHOR: ANNA K ÄHNE

Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) in Geneva, Switzerland on October 30, 2019.

IOPORA Secretary General Edgar Krieger explains what the EDV Concept is about and how, unless given a sufficiently broad interpretation by policymakers, it can damage Plant Breeders’ Rights.

FCI: Dr Krieger, what is the significance of Essentially Derived Varieties (EDV) to the Plant Breeder Rights (PBR) system? Dr Edgar Krieger: “In PBR, EDV is one of the cornerstone concepts that, depending on the policymakers’ approach, can either strengthen or weaken the entire protection system. In the realm of asexually reproduced plants, such as ornamentals and fruits, EDVs are varieties that are solely or predominantly derived from one parent plant, the initial variety. These might include natural and induced mutations, for example by means of New Breeding Techniques (NBT), as well as GMOs. Once recognised as distinct from their initial varieties in the course of a DUS test, a separate PBR title may be issued for such varieties to the developer or the discoverer of the EDV. However, we at CIOPORA believe that the

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

breeder of the initial variety should receive compensation from the commercialisation of the EDV, because it would not exist without the initial variety, the development of which might have taken years to complete.”

Currently, what is the policymakers’ stand on EDV? “The EDV Concept was introduced into the Act 1991 of the UPOV Convention with a purpose to better regulate the dependency relation between mutations and their initial varieties and to create a fair balance between traditional breeders and biotech inventors. Yet the actual implementation might fall short if the narrow interpretation provided by the current UPOV Explanatory Note on EDV (EXN on EDV) is taken over by the UPOV member states. At CIOPORA we see it as a high-risk factor to the entire PVP system. In contrast to a clear and sufficiently broad EDV definition by our breeders’ community, the UPOV EXN follows the so-called “Australian approach”. The document narrows down an EDV to the retainment of all essential characteristics of the initial variety, stating that “(...) the differences

which result from the act of derivations should be one or very few”. In practice, many EDVs would fall through this narrow threshold depriving the breeders of initial varieties of their well-deserved compensation. After all, an EDV developer decides to work not with an older, free variety but with a particular initial variety building either on its characteristics, its commercial success or both.”

FIERA MILANO, ITALY

In your view, how should the EDV concept be interpreted? “In its approach to EDV, CIOPORA concentrates on mutants that constitute the majority of EDV cases in asexually reproduced horticultural crops. It is our belief that all distinct mutants are EDV as they are not only predominantly but solely derived from the initial variety. They are phenotypically distinct from and conform to the initial variety, except for the differences which result from the mutation. At the upcoming UPOV seminar on October 30, we shall plead for the opening of the UPOV EXN on EDV to achieve a broader approach to the EDV concept for the good of all involved in horticulture.”

INTERNATIONAL B2B FAIR OF HORTICULTURE, GARDEN AND LANDSCAPE

Tel. +39 (0)2 6889080 • info@myplantgarden.com • www.myplantgarden.com

C O U N T RY U PDAT E

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Turkey predicts its exports to reach 150 million dollars in the years ahead According to the Turkish Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters Association, Turkey’s flower industry is in great health, rapidly

AUTHOR: JEAN VERNON

growing its production, exports and skilled workforce.

he Turkish Ornamental Plants & Products Exporters Association was founded in 1999 to support its 500+ members of the Turkish ornamental plants sector. The Turkish flower industry utilises 5180 hectares in production and exports indoor and outdoor plants, cuttings, cut flowers, wreaths and mosses to 77 countries worldwide including the Netherlands, Uzbekistan, the UK, Germany and Azerbaijan. The climate and its geographical proximity to its export markets create the ideal conditions for the production of ornamental plants and cut flowers. Add to the equation its state of the art modern glasshouses and an abundance of skilled labour and it’s easy to see

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

why Turkey’s buoyant horticulture industry is still growing. “Around 75% of the country’s production area is used to raise outdoor and indoor plants. With the rest is made up of 24% cut flowers and 1% flower bulbs,” explains İsmail Yilmaz, Chairman of the board of Turkish Ornamental Plants Exporters. The market has diversified. Where once before growers sold their plants to local municipalities, these days the public authorities have less money to spend and efforts are better employed in developing the huge potential in export markets.

IMPORTANT EMPLOYER “The ornamental plants industry in Turkey plays an important role supplying high added value and employment. In Turkey, approximately 25,000 people are directly employed in ornamental plants export. And when you factor in the domestic market, then more than 300,000 people are indirectly employed in the industry. The ornamental plants industry is playing an important role in providing more cohesion to the social structure in the country, through employment of unskilled workers, and by providing them with accommodation and education opportunities.” The major production cities in Turkey are İzmir, Sakarya, Antalya, Yalova, Bursa, Edirne, Mersin and Adana. Outdoor plants are produced in Sakarya, Yalova, İzmir and

around the İstanbul region. Cut flowers are produced in different provinces like Antalya, İzmir and Isparta. Sakarya is Turkey’s largest production area for trees and shrubs, covering a total area of 1254ha. At around a 200km drive from central Istanbul, Sakarya boasts some of Turkey’s most fertile areas blessed with a hybrid Mediterranean/humid subtropical climate with warm but not excessively hot summers and milder winters creating the perfect environment for growing plants. Another huge growth area for Turkey is cut flowers. Yilmaz: “In recent years, the sales of cut flowers have been increasing. Today 50% of cut flower sales are online and the other half are sold by florists and supermarkets. The top produced and exported flowers include standard and spray carnations, gerbera, gypsophila, solidago, ranunculus, sweet William, craspedia, foliage and wreaths. We also have many varieties of indoor and outdoor plants in production and export.”

CONNECTIVITY The value given to green cities and developments in Turkey have been increasing within the last decade. As a result the market of live plants has increased and Turkish producers have invested in machinery, automation and their nursery infrastructure to increase the production quality and quantity. But perhaps the greatest evidence of Turkey’s economic strength is the new Istanbul International Airport that opened in April this year at the estimated cost of around $12 billion. Coupled with the North Marmara Highway project, which includes a

A COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY? Kim van Rijssen works for Plantipp BV, a Dutch company specialising in royalty management. Kim spent eight years of her career in Beijing.

third bridge across the Bosphorus that includes extensive roadside plantations, showcasing the commercial value of greenery. Green city planning is now an important consideration for developments, recognising the value of green space in planning and development.

EXPORT ORIENTATED The ornamental plants industry in Turkey is another rapidly developing sector in terms of both production and export. Ornamental plant exports from Turkey began 25 years ago, and the sector has grown steadily since then. “For cut flowers, 50% of Turkey’s production is export oriented, whereas for outdoor plants it’s just 5%. The share of exports for both groups has been increasing in recent years. Exports increased to $99.3 million USD in 2018,” outlined Yilmaz. In Turkey, the ornamental plants sector still has big potential for growth, especially for outdoor and indoor plants. In recent years, there have been many investments in the production of live plants, creating the potential for good growth in exports of these products. “Turkish exporters are taking good advantage of the geographical location of Turkey and of the proximity to the large consumption markets in Europe and elsewhere. Export markets are expanding and Turkey is exporting ornamental plants to more than 77 countries in the world. The most important export markets are

Netherlands, Uzbekistan, United Kingdom, Germany, Azerbaijan, Iraq and Turkmenistan. Live Plants, including outdoor and indoor plants account for 56% of our exports, whereas cut flowers account 34%. The production in the highland area allows us to export flowers yearround to the markets.” “Turkey has logistical advantages in the sector. Air and road transport are commonly used in exports. Road transport is cheap and it takes a short time to reach main destinations in Europe like the Netherlands, UK and Germany,” cites Yilmaz as the major benefits.

BRIGHT FUTURE “In five to ten years we expect that our nurseries will continue to produce high quality products with a wider range of varieties and will be competitive at export markets. This will increase exports for live plants,” said Yilmaz. He concluded, “We will continue our promotional activities and implement new projects to reach this target. We aim to improve our exports by entering new markets. We are working in cooperation with the global players in our industry. We represent our sector in Union Fleurs and AIPH, which are important international associations in the sector. We also make promotional activities in the domestic market, to improve industry and increase consumption. We expect our exports to increase steadily and reach to 150 million dollars in the years to come.”

“Nonsense and a complete waste of money.” This is what my father Reinier said ten years ago when my brother Peter suggested creating a marketing budget for our company. When Reinier started Plantipp in 1994, the concept of new and protected cultivars was a novelty in itself. He told me that setting up our booth at an exhibition was simple: black pots, no labels, no posters. The plants were selling themselves. Look at us now, 25 years later. We recently introduced Sedum Atlantis (‘Nonsitnal’), bred by Hortech Inc. from the USA. After trialing and PBR-protecting the plant, the next step was optimising sales, i.e. ensuring that the breeders received their rightful royalties. So we asked social media influencers to write about the plant. A professional studio took photos. A graphic designer created the logo. We exhibited the plant at different plant shows. All with success: it won the ‘Plant of the Year’ award at the Chelsea Flower Show 2019 which generated a storm of media attention. Every plant requires a different approach. What are the trends? If drought-resistance is important in the future, we need to focus on those features of a plant. Who is our target audience? If a plant is easier to grow (for example, better rooting), we need to make sure growers get free trials. If a variety is great for landscapers, we better show them proof such as photos of field trials. If a variety is visually more attractive, we need to have Instagramworthy pictures that our partners can use (for free). In previous years, we used to focus our promotions mostly on growers. In recent years, this has expanded to the whole chain of landscapers, media, and home consumers. Since the beginning, Plantipp’s slogan is ‘bringing plants, people and ideas together’. This slogan is even more relevant today.

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DÜMMEN ORANGE REDUCES CHEMICAL CONTROL BY 80% ‘Applying natural enemies instead of applying pesticides’ ‘No chemicals’ has been standard in vegetable horticulture for years. In the production of flowers and plants this demand is only now growing fast. Manuela van Leeuwen, Phytosanitary officer and Coordinator global sustainability with Dümmen Orange says: ‘Think of last year’s discussion on bee mortality. We fully accept that demand.’

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PREDATORY MITES AND NEMATODES In 2015 Dümmen Orange had already started with the introduction of a GreenGuard protocol which reduces chemical inputs by 80%. Van Leeuwen: ‘We started on our potted chrysanthemum farm in Uganda. Together with Koppert, worldwide supplier of beneficial insects, we developed a protocol that made it possible to produce cuttings of good quality with minimal use of chemicals. We used predatory mites and parasatising nematodes instead. This was not easy in

Uganda. It took a year of discussion to import these beneficial insects into the country. Once permission was granted we started training our staff.’ SCOUTS ‘The “scouts”, employees checking the crop daily for pests and diseases, had to change their way of working. Formerly only checking crops and monitoring traps for pests, they now had to monitor for natural enemies as well. Van Leeuwen: “The entire system depends on having good scouts. They are the critical eye. They have to recognise all possible pests and any problems with the natural enemies at a very early stage, enabling immediate corrective action.‘ From both Koppert and Dümmen Orange, employees travelled regularly to Uganda to train staff. Van Leeuwen: ‘It struck me that people considered working with insects rather ludicrous in the beginning. People preferred to be a “chemical scout”

rather than a “biological scout”. That has now reversed completely. Everybody, all employees, retailers, and consumers, have understood that this is the only way forward. Growers stand very strong with these chemical-poor cuttings, making it possible to start with an IPM system themselves.‘ 100% GREENGUARD-PROOF A few years have now passed and the Dümmen Orange GreenGuard policy continues to grow strong steadily. The potted chrysanthemums from Uganda are now 100% GreenGuard proof, as are the pelargonium Peltatum cuttings and poinsettias from Kenya and Ethiopia. Van Leeuwen: ‘Different rules apply for every country and every crop. But we have now gained the experience needed with Integrated Pest Management (IPM). For potted chrysanthemums we have been the first one going for 100% IPM cuttings. And now we continue with vigour!’

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F LOW E R T R I A L S

VO I C ES

AUTHORS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS: RON VAN DER PLOEG AND ALICJA CECOT

Bedding plant extravaganza (1) This year’s FlowerTrials® took place June 11-14, 2019 in the Westland and Aalsmeer regions in the Netherlands and the Rheinland Westfalen region in Germany. A record 62 breeding companies launched thousands of novelty pot and bedding plants and merchandising programmes and concepts. The number of international visitors remained steady with a number of large new delegations attending particularly from Taiwan, Mexico and Korea. The total number of local visitors showed a slight decline from 2018 which can almost certainly be attributed to the Whitsun weekend preceding the week 24 event. In attendance were growers (37% of total visitors) followed by import/export specialists (21%), breeders/young plant producers (12%), retailers (6%) and auction representatives (1%). Here’s our take two on the biggest stories from FlowerTrials 2019.

ABZ SEEDS Summer Breeze was the watchword on the FlowerTrials stand of ABZ Seeds. The new double-flowered strawberry variety Summer Breeze Rose was the star turn. Its even newer sister variety Summer Breeze White was also on show in quantity, a few months in advance of its launch as a fully commercial variety. Company founder and breeder Gé Bentvelsen assured visitors that a further sister variety, a pink, was also at an advanced stage in the process of stock build-up prior to release.

ABZ Seeds is among the most specialised of all FlowerTrials companies, dedicated entirely to breeding seed-raised strawberries. These have been primarily bred as ornamental plants for containers, but with the flavour of the fruit also an important consideration.

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

Before Summer Breeze, the most recent major ABZ introduction was Delizz. This also featured in this year’s FlowerTrials display. Fruit quality and quantity were essential features of this variety. So was point-of-sale presentation, in a custom-designed purple Tamara pot. Delizz is an AAS winner. The variety Toscana – also on the stand – was the FleuroStar winner for 2012. It is now one of over twenty varieties in the ABZ catalogue, and seed is exported to almost forty countries.

TAKII The focus of the FlowerTrials is on bedding, patio and pot plants. Here, Takii has established a high reputation in petunia, zinnia and viola. Unlike most competitors, it also has a major stake in seed-raised cut flowers, particularly sunflower - Sunrich Orange is a Takii variety – and in lisianthus. Evening Scentsation, a trailing blue petunia, was the variety visitors were least likely to miss in Takii’s display. The colour is a selling point in its own right, but it is the scent that marks the variety out. This has been recognized in trials in the USA – Evening Scentsation is an AAS award winner. The Preciosa zinnia series was prominently displayed, and will be watched closely in field trials this summer. It is an advance on Takii’s prestigious Dreamland series, with improved basal branching. Takii entered the market for Begonia semperflorens fairly recently, with its Monza series. The semi-double flowered Fiona Rose is new, a sister variety for 2019 Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner Fiona Red. There is also a 2020 Gold Medal for Takii. The winner is Baby Rose, a compact non-trailing variety of Tropaeolum minus. This nasturtium has deep rose flowers and small dark green leaves. It has potential for pot production as well as for planted-out bedding.

TALKING USA LOGISTICS William Armellini owns and hosts www.flowersandcents.com Unmanned trucks are being tested on Florida’s highways. It’s not quite the Jetsons but the reality of trucks driving down a major highway without a driver in the seat is just hard to imagine. The logistics world continues to consolidate. Panalpina buys Cargo Master in South America to gain some perishable business and then DSV announced that it is buying Panalpina. FedEx recently started offering bulk cargo services out of Bogotá. FedEx has been transporting their packages from Bogotá to all parts of the world for some time but they never offered just bulk space to others. The plans for transforming a rural airport in Florida into a multi-billion-dollar commercial hub for perishable cargo from South America are well underway. AirGlades Airport is in Clewiston, 55 miles east of Fort Myers, 100 miles northwest of Miami International Airport and located on a major trucking route. This $650 million project is about building a stateof-the-art logistics facility for perishables adjacent to the airport. MIA is on target to have capacity issues over the next 10-15 years due to increasing growth in passenger traffic. This eventuality has made the logistics project more important and relevant to the perishables industry. The organisers have already successfully jumped through several hoops required by the FAA and other government agencies in their quest for final approval. AirGlades will be renamed AirGlades International Airport and privately owned by investors and users of the airport and facilities, which makes it attractive for long term users. The main objective is to handle perishable cargo, via AIA and a streamlined, less costly process, specialising in products such as flowers and produce. Keeping them out of MIA by landing them in Clewiston and out of Miami traffic congestion will result in less trucks in and out of Miami. It will potentially illuminate the multiple handlings that perishable cargo goes through in its logistics life via MIA. A major selling point is that the flight time between Bogotá and AIA is less than Bogotá to MIA and just enough to be a saving when talking airplane operating costs. This is something to watch. It will still take 4-5 years before any dirt is turned but I’m sure it will happen.

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VO I C ES

BIGGER OPPORTUNITIES IN SMALLER WORLD Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a big world that we live in but at the end of the day, it is getting smaller all the time. I experience this regularly when I see the developments in trade flows between production and markets. Over the past decades, there has been a natural north-south connection between supply and demand. LatinAmerican countries produced flowers for the US market, East-Africa produced for the European market and in Asia, Vietnam and Southern China made their products for larger cities in Eastern China. But more and more I am seeing trade flows making a change of direction and crossing in an east-west direction. From Ecuador and Colombia, there are already well-established trade lanes to the UK and Russia. Over the past several years, shipments from Kenya and Ethiopia have been going to the Middle East and Australia. Air freight companies are jockeying for a position in the flower industry and their facilities and services are making this possible. If you look at these developments and compare the supply chain from the traditional north-south connections with the relatively new east-west ones, there are some big changes. In the past, the physical product was sent to the Netherlands where unpackers handled the products to prepare them for the last step in the sales process. Nowadays, webshops make connections with the final customers abroad and orders roll out of the system with all delivery details available at the farm. So the orders are custom-made and prepared for shipment to the final destination.

which leads to inefficiency when you look at the big picture. Another thing that has changed is that the receiving customer is the person checking the flowers after transport. And as you may know, there is always a chance of quality issues after transport. This could lead to inconvenient discussions. At Royal FloraHolland we see this as an opportunity. We have been organising the marketplace in the Netherlands, with quality controls and efficient logistics, for a long time. Additional services like cold warehousing, delivery from stock or by demand and consolidation are additional services offered on the Dutch hubs to facilitate sales between our growers and their customers in an efficient way. If we can set up fulfilment centres close to either production or market places, we can offer these services as well and contribute to a more efficient supply chain.

Fred van Tol Manager International Development Royal FloraHolland

This way of trading not only brings the work to the start of the supply chain, but it also has a big effect on the process afterwards. The splitting of the orders is not done close to the final destination, but has already been done at the farm. And every individual farm must set up their transport lines to deliver the orders,

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AUTHOR: RON VAN DER PLOEG

GREENTECH 2019

E XPOSURE

The fourth edition of the AIPH approved horticultural technology show GreenTech welcomed 12,489 attendees from 114 countries; an attendance increase of 20% on 2018 figures, states event organiser RAI. Over 470 leading greenhouse builders, horticultural engineering and lighting companies, substrate suppliers, service providers, trade associations and research institutes exhibited at the RAI Amsterdam on June 11-13. Organised under three pavilions, themed Vertical/indoor farming, Organic production and Medical cannabis, companies presented new technologies and solutions. The 3 day-event was all about sharing knowledge, doing business and discussing trends with a strong focus on new products and services. On the opening morning Greentech celebrated its annual awards ceremony. An international advisory committee and panel of expert judges shortlisted 18 nominees across three categories: ‘Innovation’, ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Concept’. Natutec Scout from Koppert Biological Systems scooped up the ‘Innovation Award’ . Manual scouting is important in the horticulture industry, but also time-consuming and error-sensitive. With this in mind, Koppert designed the Natutec scout-app, an intuitive mobile application and dashboard that gives instant insight into the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) situation for greenhouse growers. This enables growers to respond rapidly in the on-going battle against potentially harmful pests and diseases. To date, the image analysis tool can be used for recognising thrips and whitefly on sticky cards with more pests to be added in the near future. The Head judge Harm Maters said that the tool is globally applicable, simple and easy to use, has global impact on indoor and outdoor farming and

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

is a great innovation. The GreenTech Sustainability Award went to Ridder NoNa+ from Ridder Group (pictured). NoNa+ is the industry’s first cost-efficient sodium-removal solution that removes harmful sodium levels from drain water and enables emission free cultivation thanks to a unique combination of selective membrane and electrodialysis technology. This innovative system minimises the loss of expensive fertilisers and makes it possible to remove sodium without adding other minerals. The jury said that NoNa+ was a deserving winner as ‘it maximises the greenhouse water cycle while less investment, high input and zero sodium creates an affordable product for growers everywhere.’ e-Gro from Grodan won the GreenTech Concept Award. e-Gro is an open platform that provides comprehensive visibility and intelligent recommendations to help growers make data-driven decisions and optimise their total operation. The platform gives a clear picture of the root zone, the crop, the climate conditions, irrigation and harvest results. As a result, a grower has more control and can make better informed decisions. Commenting on this year’s show Mariska Dreschler, Director Horticulture GreenTech said, “I am very pleased with the results of GreenTech 2019: there was a positive vibe, full aisles and a lot

NoNa+ is the industry’s first cost-efficient sodium-removal solution that removes harmful sodium levels from drain water.

Natutec Scout from Koppert Biological Systems scooped up the ‘Innovation Award’.

e-Gro from Grodan won the GreenTech Concept Award.

of attention for the knowledge sessions in the theatres. Lots of side events were organised and young talent was attracted to learn more about what the booming horticulture sector has to offer. Adding the new medicinal cannabis segment also proved to be a good step”. The opening day of GreenTech saw the official launch of GreenTech Americas, set to take place from March 24-26, 2020 in Querétaro, Mexico. GreenTech’s decision to set up a satellite show in Mexico is only natural as the country is a major agricultural producer, its area of protected cropping is growing exponentially and it is viewed as the gateway to the USA, Canada and South America. The next edition of GreenTech Amsterdam will take place on Monday 8, Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 June 2020 at RAI Amsterdam.

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When Visser Horti Systems launched its automated transplanting system in 2017, the company stressed that ‘AutoStix’ (winner of the 2018 GreenTech Innovation Award) is an open source technology built to fulfil the needs of a broad range of users. As such, the company from ‘s-Gravendeel (Netherlands) has continued to add new features to the technology.

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

4.7 ha greenhouse with a combination of Philips GreenPower LED toplighting compact and HPS lighting. Arcadia chose to install Philips LED toplights because of its passively cooled design and easy to install construction that supports an irrigation system and both HPS and LED lighting. Arcadia played a key role in running a large-scale trial on 2,000 m2 of Chrysanthemums in 2016. The first trials resulted in 20% heavier Chrysanthemum stems with very consistent quality when grown under a hybrid set-up of LED and HPS lighting. Arcadia grows single-headed Chrysanthemums at five cultivation sites spanning 20 hectares. The company owners state that Philips LEDs optimise climate and light, in combination with two energy screens. They add that the hybrid LED and HPS solution will allow extra growth, even in the summer, a benefit that is not possible to gain from HPS installation only.

The new Multi-Media strip for the European market made its debut at IPM ESSEN 2019. The strip helps growers enhance the efficiency of the planting process. Each strip contains 34 modules, also known as clips made of biodegradable material and can be filled with any type of rooting medium. Offshore cutting producers in Africa can root straight into the AutoStix Multi Media strips. The strips are then mechanically transplanted directly into finished containers. The new six-gripper Autostix machine has a planting speed of about 13,500 cuttings per hour and can be connected to a pot filler. A 3 gripper-machine connected to a pot filler is due to follow next autumn. Selecta One presents the Multi Media strip under its own brand name ROCS with Sky in Kenya and Selecta Hellas in Greece (Petunia and Calibrachoa) assigned as future ROCS rooting stations. The first deliveries of ROCS are expected this December. ROCS fit a purposely designed shipping tray offering room for 15 strips per tray.

AUTOSTIX’NEW FEATURES

A nominee for the 2019 GreenTech Sustainability Award, ‘Hortiled Top’ by Dutch lighting company Hortilux Schréder is touted to be the most energy efficient horticulture LED lighting on the market with an efficacy of 3.5 µmol/ Joule, compared to 1.9 µmol/Joule in HPS technology. According to Hortilux Schreder, its 120° beam angle ensures a homogeneous light distribution over the plant. The compact body of the Hortiled Top lighting system is crafted in aluminium and is designed to be cooled passively. As no cooling system is needed, growers can save on installation costs while smart cooling reduces the risks of fixture failure, thus increasing reliability. Signify’s Philips GreenPower LED Toplighting (High Output) combines a light efficacy of 2.8 3.0 µmol/J and an output of 8000 µmol/s. Modules can be mounted on a trellis to replace existing HPS lamps - an easy ‘1-to-1 switch’ while re-using existing HPS plugs and infrastructure. GreenPower allows growers to use a hybrid system of HPS and LED lighting in a chessboard pattern. Arcadia Chrysanten (pictured), a Dutch-based grower of Chrysanthemums, will fit its newest

FIBREGLASS GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTIONS

E XPOSURE

SHINING EXAMPLES

E XPOSURE

By launching a revolutionary new fibreglass greenhouse roof, Piet Bom, once again, caused quite a stir in the horticulture industry. Piet Bom is a tech industry veteran with 60 years of being at the forefront of technological innovation in greenhouse construction. Think of his PB screen greenhouse from 1983 and Record Column Drain introduced one year later. A Steel-Plus gutter and a frameless roof vent relying on thermally toughened glass are also among his conceptions as well as a slip block for horizontal roof screens ensuring perfect closure, introduced in 2008 and now sold by the millions around the world. Piet Bom, who sold his stake in Bom Kassenbouw (currently trading as Bom Group) in 2002, was making a comeback (sort of) at Greentech 2019, launching his new company: Piet Bom Innovations. After stressful months of design, Piet Bom Innovations produced a tactile mockup of the patent pending ‘Fibreglass Greenhouse Roof’ for show at GreenTech 2019. Bom and his team gathered as much feedback as possible from industry experts and tried to gain empathic understanding of one of the most urgent global challenges: reducing carbon emissions. The company states that its fibreglass greenhouse can reduce carbon emissions by 80% in comparison to aluminium structures while offering greenhouse constructors and growers additional benefits. Horizontal profiles made from fibreglass (gutters, ridges and rods), for example, will minimise thermal bridging effects and the amount of condensation. Moreover, fibreglass has proven longevity and reliability over the lifetime of the building. The material can be found in the Netherlands’ giant storm surge barrier at the North Sea and as components used in wind turbine blades. Fibreglass provides superior strength and stiffness whilst also being light weight. Dutch independent research organisation TNO has been asked to carry out a risk assessment with the first results being quite satisfactory in terms of employee safety and benefits.

While the company is advocating fibreglass’ green credentials, the pertinent question is whether the fibreglass greenhouse can be recycled when it reaches its end of life. Fibreglass is also known as Glass fibre Reinforced Plastic, (GRP) and to separate the glass from the plastic for recycling is a pending issue which requires further research to be done. The solution may lie in a solvent with opposite properties, so instead of binding materials to each other, it can separate them chemically with limited or no heating. Ideally, the next step in the prototype phase will include a multitude of tests to be carried in a demonstration greenhouse incorporating pultruded profiles. This will require financial help from government-backed schemes. The company told FCI that Dutch politicians have already shown a keen interest in the concept as it can provide a tool to lower the impact of climate change. Meanwhile, aluminium continues to be cheaper than fibreglass. However, the company points to highly volatile aluminium prices. It also draws a parallel with the global automotive industry where government incentives spur demand and reduce the purchase price of plug in electric cars. Ultimately, Piet Bom Innovations believes that the use of fibreglass in greenhouse construction will not be limited to roofs and will usher in a new era of greenhouse building with the conventional Venlo greenhouse being replaced by a blend of plexiglass and fibreglass constructions with the look of a polyhoop house and the strength of a glasshouse. Pioneers and risk takers such as Piet Bom, inspiring others to follow, deserve to be encouraged. As such the verdict of the GreenTech Awards jury, not to award the company with the GreenTech Concept Award, was not understood by everyone.

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Unless you are an unconventional winemaker and opted for dry-farming your premium wines, at any point in time, somewhere in the world a farmer, food producer or ornamentals grower is likely to be dealing with drought. This is where Netafim comes in, often touted ‘the global leader in smart precision irrigation solutions for sustainable productivity’. At GreenTech, Liad Blaier, Netafim’s Head of Pre-Sale Global Projects Unit, told FCI that the company has deep roots in the horticulture sector and was founded in 1965 in Kibbutz Hatzerim near Beersheba in Israel’s Negev desert. From its first commercial drip irrigation system launched in 1966 to the introduction of NetBeat in 2017, the world’s first intelligent irrigation system , the company, employing over 5000 staff and operating in 110 countries through its 29 subsidiaries, has come a long way. 2018 marked a special year with Mexichem, a leading supplier of solutions for building and infrastructure, data communications, irrigation and chemicals industries (annual revenue $5.8 billion in 2017), buying 80% of Netafim. Blaier believes that while drought is testing farmers and growers, the volatility in weather patterns and an ever-increasing world population to feed make the irrigation industry more and more relevant as it provides solutions to environmental and societal challenges. Autonomous technology and the ability to connect sensors and equipment using the internet was the theme of the GreenTech summit, a theme which Blaier thinks was very well-chosen. “The digital revolution in agriculture and horticulture is here to stay. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are ruling the current marketplace and our new generation of precision irrigation technologies can allow us to grow any crops at anytime, anywhere in the world.” He references NetBeat™ , Netafim’s irrigation and fertigation management system that integrates monitoring, analysis and automation into a single mobile platform, enabling farmers to maximise productivity. The system, launched in 2017 at Agritech Israel (according to insiders one of the best networking events for the global irrigation industry), provides farmers with real-time recommendations based on data pertaining to plant, soil and weather conditions obtained from both field and external sources. This data is analysed in the cloud, according to proprietary Dynamic Crop Models and provides farmers with actionable recommendation that can be immediately implemented in their field. Netafim has an agriculture projects division that plans, designs and executes over 350 projects every year worldwide and accounts for 25% of the company’s annual revenue. Greenhouse projects make up a big portion of this activity. The remainder 75% of Netafim’s revenue is generated through regular

FLORACULTURE INTERNATIONAL September/October 2019

S E P T E M B E R 2 019

N O V E M B E R 2 019

1-2. GERMANY

5. NETHERLANDS

spoga+gafa 201, German garden trade show at Messe Koeln.

Floriforum conference organised by Union Fleurs at the IFTF Auditorium in Vijfhuizen.

www.spogagafa.com

www.floriforum.com

1-6. UNITED KINGDOM

6-8. NETHERLANDS

International Garden Centre Congress in Windsor, England.

International Floriculture Trade Fair (IFTF) in Vijfhuizen.

www.igca2019.co.uk

www.iftf.nl

3-4. UNITED KINGDOM

6-8. NETHERLANDS

Four Oaks Trade Show in Cheshire.

Trade Fair Aalsmeer.

www.fouroaks-tradeshow.com

4-6. UNITED STATES AmericanHort Plug & Cutting Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. www.americanhort.org

5-7. POLAND Green is Life. Poland’s leading nursery trade fair in Warsaw. www.greenislife.pl

8-13. CHINA sales of irrigation and greenhouse equipment on a non-project basis. The company has customers around the world from small-scaled growers in polyhouses to the most technically advanced greenhouses in the world. Among Netafim’s recent greenhouse projects is a 30ha vegetable polyhouse farm in Vietnam, a 5ha tomato glasshouse in Croatia and an ongoing project of 11ha vegetable polyhouses in Kazakhstan. Commenting on the potential of smart precision irrigation and plant nutrition in greenhouse production Blaier says, “In a world where environmental and health issues are a major concern, the ability to deliver good business results through the digital and precise management of water, fertiliser and crop protection products is no longer just nice to have; it’s a must. Our strongest focus today is making our controllers and algorithms smarter and delivering new technologies to new markets.” When asked about the impact of Netbeat in greenhouse production Blaier says, “I believe that Netbeat crop models which give growers real-time recommendations are going to become a game-changer since they will allow farmers to improve their performance. For newcomers to the agricultural sector, such as investors and vertical integration companies, this will reduce the learning curve and significantly shorten the payback period.” On a much more sizeable scale is a giant open field project in Ethiopia where water from the Tekeze river is used to ensure profitability and consistent production of sugar. In India, the company joined forces with the government for a ‘community irrigation’ project which makes 7000 small holder farmers less dependent on the monsoon rain and has impacted the region’s entire economy.

71st AIPH Annual Congress, Beijing, China including the AIPH International Green City Conference to be held on the 11th September. www.aiph.org

Trade Fair Aalsmeer 2019 Trade Fair Aalsmeer has become an important fixture in the calendar of those active in the world of cut flowers and potted plants. Offering the largest variety in flowers and plants, this year’s show will take place at the Aalsmeer auction from 6 to 8 November 2019. Now in its 21st year, this trade-only event is dedicated to potted plants, fresh cut flowers and nursery stock produce. Trade Fair Aalsmeer, attracts important visitors. Last year the fair received over 20,000 attendees and direct orders are still being taken. Participants also use the event to maintain valued contacts and make new ones. The highlight of Trade Fair Aalsmeer remains the Novelty Showcase which will highlight spectacular new plants and smart plant merchandising concepts. The 3rd Greenovation Award will recognise products with a high level of sustainability and thus a minimal environmental footprint. Visitor registration for Trade Fair Aalsmeer is now live. www.tradefairaalsmeer.com For more information visit

10-12. FRANCE Salon du Végétal, France’s leading horticultural trade show will take place at the Beaujoire exhibition centre in Nantes. New dates!! www.salonduvegetal.com

10-12. UNITED KINGDOM

16-21. CHINA IPS Symposium Growing Media for Food and Quality of Life & 1st International Peat-based Products and Technology Expo in Quingdao.

O C TO B E R 2 019

Proflora at the Corferias Convention Centre in Bogotá. www.proflora.org.co

24-28. SOUTH AFRICA

2-4. NETHERLANDS

www.gleebirmingham.com

8th World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Cape Town.

GrootGroen, the world’s premier amenity plant show.

FlowersExpo at Moscow’s Crocus Expo.

www.ser2019.org

www.flowers-expo.ru

26-28. ITALY

11-13. CHINA

Flormart at the Fiera di Padova exhibition centre.

The World Ornamental Horticulture Summit at the Club Med Joyview Hotel in the Yanqing District, Beijing. www.aiph.org

16-18. ZIMBABWE

www.grootgroenplus.nl

9-10. CANADA

www.flormart.it

Canadian Greenhouse Conference at the Scotiabank Convention Centre, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

28-29. UNITED KINGDOM

www.canadiangreen houseconference.com

RHS Malvern Autumn Show, Worchestershire.

31. USA

www.rhs.org.uk

Hortiflor Zimbabwe at Harare’s HICC convention centre.

30 SEPTEMBER 2 OCTOBER. ECUADOR

www.hpp.nl

Agriflor Ecuador at the Centro de Exposiciones in Quito.

www.royalfloraholland.com

14-16. TURKEY Flower Show Istanbul/ Eurasia Plant fair at the Tüyap Exhibition Centre in Istanbul. www.flowershow.com.tr

17-30. TURKEY Growtech at the Antalya Expo Centre. www.growtech.com.tr D E C E M B E R 2 019

4-14. NEW ZEALAND Southern Hemisphere Regional Conference on Permafrost of the International Permafrost Association (IPA) in Queenstown. southcop19.com J A N UA R Y 2 0 2 0

14-17. FRANCE 2-4. COLOMBIA

GLEE at NEC Birmingham

10-12. RUSSIA

SAVE THE DATE

SMART PRECISION IRRIGATION

E XPOSURE

Horticultural Lighting Conference in Sheraton Denver Downtown.

34th edition of SIVAL, France’s iconic agricultural trade show at the Parc des Expositions in Angers. www.sival-angers.com

28-31. GERMANY IPM at the Messe Essen convention centre in Essen. www.ipm-essen.de

28. GERMANY The AIPH International Grower of the Year Awards, IPM Essen. www.aiph.org

21-23. SAUDI ARABIA Saudi International Flowers&Gardens exposition (SIFG) at Riyadh’s International Convention&Exhibition Centre. www.sifgexpo.com

www.horticulturelighting conference.com

www.hpp.nl WWW.FLORACULTUREINTERNATIONAL.COM

GREEN, GREAT, GORGEOUS! 28–31 JANUARY

Trade Fair Aalsmeer 2019 6, 7, 8 November Connect with Hans, Francois, and Gaby

The world’s leading trade fair for horticulture

Plants Technology Floristry Garden features

... AS WELL AS 747 OTHER EXHIBITORS! Doing business globally is personal. That includes a face and a handshake. Trade Fair Aalsmeer has the world’s largest variety in flowers and plants. With 750 exhibitors and over 20,000 visitors, there is always an opportunity to strengthen and expand your network.

WELCOME TO IPM ESSEN! ◆ GREEN trends and sales-boosting POS concepts ◆ GREAT product choice and international

partner network ◆ GORGEOUS new plant varieties and technology innovations All this at IPM ESSEN – the globally leading horticulture exhibition.

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU.

For a speedy boarding experience download your free ticket on TRADEFAIRAALSMEER.COM

WWW.IPM-ESSEN.DE

TURKISH CARGO, THE FRESH WAY FOR PERISHABLE CARGO. We transpo perishable goods such as vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, and flowers to all corners of the world with special storage rooms and cold chain equipment to keep them fresh.

turkishcargo.com