COEXPHAL's ornamental sector notes an increase in national sales while exports continue

Valencia Fair has become a 35,000 square meter garden for three days. The power of plants to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen was reflected in the attitude of the 12,000 visitors who received the 52nd edition of Iberflora , the International Plant and Flower, Landscaping, Technology and DIY Garden Fair. Breathing nature in a closed area is a record that it shares with other reference fairs in Europe such as Essen (Germany) and Paysalia (France). The 14 ornamental plant producers associated with COEXPHAL who have attended the call - 10 of them with their own stand - agree that it is a meeting point for the sector where they can share information with clients and suppliers.

“It is very positive to greet people with whom you deal all year by phone or via e-mail,” says Paqui Espinosa ( Viveros Jiménez ), “and it allows you to know the needs and opinions of the client,” indicates María Herrada ( Plantal Producciones ). Furthermore, “the Fair opens your mind,” says Alberto Pascual ( Viverseros Medipalm ), who believes that more resources should be made available so that small producers are also represented. “Associations play a very important role in this aspect and COEXPHAL is a clear example of this work. The first step is to be convinced that it is the appropriate method of exposing Spain's production and then encourage small producers to be present. I think it is the objective that Iberflora should set.”

This edition has left some obvious conclusions such as the increase in demand in the national market while exports remain maintained, mainly to Germany and France. “The socioeconomic situation forces us to look for new marketing lines such as the diversification of the offer,” reports Francisco Maldonado ( Figueplant and Romero Figueroa ) and gives as an example “a collection of hanging tubs that we produce exclusively.”

New varieties of philodendron, alocasia, aralia, yellow marginata and graphic plants, such as bolita senecios, rhipsalis and calathea, which Laura Gonzálvez ( Viveros Las Fresas ) incorporates into its catalog. A wide variety of succulents and the desert rose (adenium) that Plantal Producciones has been cultivating for 15 years “and now has found the recognition it deserves” in the opinion of its director, Ton Olhston . The novelties of Cactus Serrano such as the aeonium hybrids, the crested forms and the larger formats that it is betting on this year, according to its owner Francisco Serrano . Or the horticultural plants of tomato, pepper and eggplant, from Semilleros Laimund , which have aroused great interest.

The poisenttia or Easter Flower, in winter, and the dipladenia, in spring, continue to occupy a leading place due to their production and export figures.

Another key that marks the current trend is the production of varieties with less water needs such as succulents "and trees that resist the lack of water, which we know after our reception in Arab countries," says Alberto Pascual (Medipalm Nurseries). ; “the selecias, kalanchoes and crassulas”, pointed out by Francisco Luque ( Semilleros Laimund ); and the pistachio, which can survive on a surface where the annual rainfall is around 350/400, as explained by Antonio Hurtado ( Nevereros Zuaime ).

Andalusia is the area of Europe most affected by drought, a disadvantage that does not prevent it from standing out as the main exporter of ornamental plants. In this edition, Iberflora has given it the spotlight it deserves and has grouped Andalusian producers in the same pavilion, comments Francisco Rubio , head of the Ornamental section of COEXPHAL. “A very effective decision that has allowed us to demonstrate our strength and the sustainable, high-quality product we offer,” says Jordi Solis ( Solisplant ).

Horticulture Ruiz , Ornameplant Viveros , Punto Sur Zierpflanzen and Valdivia Ornamental attended Iberflora as visitors, as did Bioline Iberia , a company owned by COEXPHAL and specialized in biological pest control, and Ejiturbas , a professional substrates company that this year exhibited alongside Almeria producers.

Agrocolor , which continues to be the only certifier present in Iberflora, reported on phytosanitary attestations, a mandatory official service to comply with the requirements of the country to which it is exported. Agrocolor personnel have authorization to carry it out in Andalusia, Valencia, Madrid and Galicia and are in the process of achieving it in the rest of the autonomous communities, according to Francisco Cano , director of the Inspection and Verification area, who also encouraged producers to obtain their quality certifications and the main schemes of the ornamental plant and cut flower producing and marketing sector such as: GlobalG.AP PPM, GlobalG.AP FO and GRASP.