POST-RELEASE: RESULTS OF THE FLORA EXPO ASTANA INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF FLORICULTURE AND GREEN INDUSTRY

April 10-12, 2024, Flora Expo Astana 2024 was held at the EXPO International Exhibition Center in Astana – the main meeting place for professionals in the fields of floriculture, gardening, landscape design, countryside construction and arrangement.

The event was organized by Astana Expo Company. The co-organizer was GreenExpo Exhibition Company (Moscow, Russia). 3D Flowers wholesale company was the general sponsor, Florexim was the registration sponsor.

Garden & Village and Eco Expo Astana Specialized expositions were organized within the framework of the exhibition.

EXIBITORS

In 2024, the exhibition set a new record for the number of exhibitors, showing a 35% increase in the exposition. The event was attended by more than 130 exhibitors from 11 countries, including Belarus, the Netherlands, Poland, Kazakhstan, China, Colombia, Kenya, Russia, Israel, Uzbekistan and Ecuador.

Companies demonstrated a wide range of new products and bestsellers in the following thematic sections: cut and potted flowers, plants, planting material, bulbs, tree and shrub seedlings, plant care and protection products, planting and landscape design services, floristry, technical solutions and technologies, floral business and logistics, garden development, garden furniture and tools, countryside development, eco products and solutions, etc.

The exhibition mainly presented new products of the range of flowers and plants from the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers.

The largest foreign exhibition was held by the world leader in the sale of flowers – the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Dutch delegates included Decorum, Greenworks International, Deliflor Chrysanten, Dekker Chrysanten, Linflowers Chrysanten, Haakman Flowerbulbs, Dümmen Orange, Vannova, 247flower.online, Schreurs Holland, Zentoo, Enigma Flowers Trading BV, FEX BV and others.

The exhibition also featured an exposition of 20 companies from Ecuador. The companies included AnniRoses, Flores Verdes, Tessa, Rosas Del Corazon, HojaVerde, SunRite Farms, Matiz Roses, Ecualand, EBF Cargo, Florisol & Co, Galaxy Flowers, D&C Cargo, Impex Flowers, RaD iLALO and others.



The general sponsor of the exhibition, 3D Flowers, demonstrated a wide range of fresh cut flowers from the Netherlands and Ecuador at its stand. For 15 years, 3D Flowers has been setting standards of quality and reliability by making wholesale deliveries of flowers to Kazakhstan by air, including direct flights from Quito and Amsterdam to Karaganda.

The Dutch flower producer Dümmen Orange showed the public unique varieties of chrysanthemums such as Pastela Pink, Pastela Sunny, Kaya and Let's Go Pink for the first time.

The Ecuadorian flower producer Flores Verdes has introduced a new rose variety called Kazakhstan Heritage. These roses colored in the yellow and blue tones of the national flag of Kazakhstan were created especially for the company's first visit to the country.

In turn, the Kenyan company Subati Flowers showed visitors shrub roses, summer flowers and fillers for bouquets.

Making its debut at the exhibition, the Uzbek exhibitor Tasflora attracted attention with its variety of flowers from classic roses to branched chrysanthemums, alstromeria, bush roses and peonies in individual designs.

For the first time, ProFlowers Kazakhstani wholesale company showed its innovative Exchange online service for quick ordering of flowers, plants and decor with delivery all over Kazakhstan.

The brightest stand rightfully belonged to Bloom wholesale flower company. The company participated in the exhibition together with its Ecuadorian partners, including BUSINESS ECUADOR, ALLIANCE LOGIZTIK, MILAN FLOR, FLOR AROMA, WORLD ROSES CENTER, SAPPHIRE.

Joy Gardens Garden Center, which presented modern garden equipment from the world brands Felco and Verdemax, normа fittings and rain irrigation systems.

At the Village outdoor exposition of countryside development, ARMAS exhibited for the first time the latest chestnut-shaped wood and metal vases and a round lounge gazebo, emphasizing its commitment to innovation in design and functionality.

Great attention was drawn to the stands of such companies as Art-Flowers, Invos Flowers, Jardin Design & Production, Florexpress, Ecoculture, Zhuldyz Flowers, Black Tulip, ZION, Dolina, FATAKI, Bagban KZ, Green Garden, StrogoOrganic and others.

BUSINESS PROGRAM

An important feature of the exhibition was a rich business program, which included discussions on a wide range of topical issues of the development of the flower and garden business, the state and development of the planting material market, digitalization and the establishment of partnerships.

The business program of the exhibition involved not only representatives of the exhibiting companies, but also invited experts and specialists. The total number of speakers was 40 people.

Over 45 business events were held at all exhibition venues, which was double the number of the previous year.

Traditionally, the main professional event was the Sustainable Planting Material in the Conditions of the Republic of Kazakhstan Conference. Experts of the green market discussed a wide range of topics, such as the Charter of landscaping of the capital of Kazakhstan, involvement of citizens and businesses in the process of landscaping of the city, prospects for the development of the planting material industry, etc.

Another equally striking event was the Netherlands Day, which was organized with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kazakhstan. At the event, Dutch producers of flowers and plants, including Green Works International, Decorum and WF LEENEN, shared their knowledge about growing peonies, ranunculus and daffodils, and also discussed new products and features of the Royal Flora Holland auction.

At the Flora Talks seminar, the speakers discussed key aspects of the flower business development – from successful sales strategies for premium roses presented by Rosas del Corazon plantation to business scaling methods shared by INSPIRO co-founder. Other topics covered included floral wholesaler automation using Florist Cloud and strategies for buying flowers at the best prices from Biflorica.

The Tulip Forcing Workshop was well-attended. Representatives of Galantus and Nakhodka Polesya spoke on the lifehacks of forcing of tulips and the possibility of exporting tulips, as well as held question and answer sessions with the audience.

Florists were impressed by the show by Mark Frank, the famous virtuoso designer from the Dutch company Flower Circus, who spoke on the topic of creating impressive compositions of ordinary flowers.

The 6^th Kazakhstan Professional Floristry Championship Altyn Gul 2024 became a real decoration of the exhibition. The general subject of all competition tasks was the Modern wedding. The Championship participants competed in 3 competition tasks: a Composition for wedding reception decoration, a Modern wedding bouquet, and a Surprise task.

The Championship was evaluated by the honorable Jury chaired by the famous Russian florist-designer Sergey Karpunin (Moscow, Russia); the florist-designer and the Chairman of the Technical Commission Natalia Mikhaleva (Tallinn, Estonia); the florist-designer and the Champion of Russia in Professional Floristry (2021) Olga Sharova; as well as the Champion of the Kazakhstan Professional Floristry Championship Altyn Gul (2013 and 2014) Marina Shipovskaya (Astana, Kazakhstan).

As a result of assessments of the Jury of the Championship the first place was taken by Abbaspur Said Ali (Astana, Kazakhstan), the second place was won by Ekaterina Korchagina, School of Floristics (Almaty, Kazakhstan), the third place went to Kuanysh Ospanova, Global Flowers LLP (Astana, Kazakhstan).

VISITORS

The exhibition attracted 3,430 professionals from all regions of Kazakhstan and from 24 foreign countries, emphasizing its international importance. The largest number of guests arrived in Astana from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, the Netherlands and Uzbekistan, which confirms the popularity and importance of the exhibition in the development of the flower and garden industry in Kazakhstan and beyond.

The event was attended by wholesale and retail companies selling flowers and plants, owners of nurseries and garden centers, dealers of flowers and plants, florists, decorators, designers, gardeners, representatives of charitable companies, restaurant and hotel business, government agencies, countryside lifestyle admirers, eco-activists, etc.

Flora Expo Astana annually confirms its status as an important event for floriculture and landscaping professionals, as well as an effective tool for business development in a changing market. The event adapts to new challenges and provides participants with the most promising opportunities for business development and promotion in the industry.

New dates for next year have already been announced. We look forward to your participation at Flora Expo Astana International Exhibition of Floriculture and Green Industry on April 9-11, 2025!