We begin 2026 with one of the key highlights in our calendar: the AIPH International Grower of the Year Awards at IPM Essen, our AIPH-Approved Trade Fair and valued Affiliate Member.
The 2026 finalists represent outstanding innovation, commitment, and horticultural skill. As they prepare to step onto the global stage, we look forward to sharing their achievements with you in Germany.
We invite all AIPH members and newsletter subscribers, many of whom will be exhibiting or visiting Messe Essen, to join us in recognising the growers who are pushing our industry forward.
Your support will help make this international gathering a truly memorable celebration for our sector.
Our meetings throughout 2025 fostered genuine collaboration and reinforced the strong relationships that define the AIPH community. It was a year shaped by connection, shared learning, and the generosity of the members who welcomed us into their countries.
Our year began in Chiang Rai, where we were welcomed by the Royal Thai Government, its Department of Agriculture, the Horticultural Science Society of Thailand, and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau. Their professionalism and warm hospitality shaped an exceptional Spring Meeting, enriched by industry insight, Expo updates, Green City discussions, and inspiring technical tours.
In September, our Belgian member AVBS hosted the 77th AIPH Annual Congress. Growers, associations, and partners from across the world joined us for thoughtful conversations, meaningful networking, and a renewed sense of shared purpose.
We are excited to continue this spirit of collaboration in 2026.
Greenlife Industry Australia is preparing a dynamic programme for the AIPH Spring Meeting in Sydney from 8–12 March, and our Italian member ANVE will host the 78th AIPH Annual Congress in Bari from 13–17 September.
Thank you to every member whose collaboration and commitment continue to strengthen this global network year after year.
Alongside our meetings and shared moments throughout the year, the AIPH Annual Review 2025 offers a broader perspective on AIPH’s work across the Association’s reporting year, covering the period from September 2024 to September 2025. It captures progress across our strategic priorities — from strengthening global networks and advancing Green City initiatives to championing excellence, connecting knowledge, and supporting members worldwide.
The Review brings together key achievements, milestones, and stories from across the AIPH community, providing context for the year just completed and a strong foundation for the work ahead.
Read the AIPH Annual Review 2025
This year marked the publication of Volume 73 of International Statistics Flowers & Plants, the industry’s only consolidated and authoritative global evidence base. For more than seven decades, the Yearbook has remained the most trusted reference of its kind, guiding growers, policymakers, suppliers, associations, investors, and researchers through an ever-evolving landscape of ornamental horticulture.
The new edition brings together updated production, trade, consumption, and economic data from more than 40 countries. It is an invaluable resource in a year marked by shifting demand, rising input costs, labour constraints, and climate-related pressures. Its depth and reliability continue to support informed decision-making across the entire value chain.
As always, the price is 195 euros, and AIPH Members can view it for free, underscoring our commitment to connecting knowledge across borders and empowering the global industry with insights that drive long-term resilience and growth.
Expos remain one of the most powerful ways our sector reaches global audiences, showcasing the beauty, innovation, and cultural importance of horticulture on an international stage. Behind each of these high-profile events sits a year-round programme of planning, review, and support, led by AIPH to ensure quality, credibility, and long-term legacy.
In 2025, AIPH-approved Expos continued to demonstrate this impact in practice. Euroflora transformed Genoa’s waterfront into a vibrant celebration of plants, while the Goyang International Flower Festival marked its 30th anniversary with record attendance and international recognition.
Alongside these public moments, AIPH’s Expo Committee remained highly active throughout the year, supporting approved and candidate Expos through progress reviews, site visits, and masterplan inspections. This included on-the-ground engagement with organisers of the International Horticultural Expo Yokohama 2027 (GREEN×EXPO 2027) in Japan, Expo 2029 Korat and Udon Thani International Horticultural Expo 2026, in Thailand, the Ulsan International Garden Expo 2028 in the Republic of Korea, and Expo 2027 İzmir in Türkiye. These visits play a vital role in ensuring quality, alignment with AIPH standards, and long-term legacy planning.
Beyond inspections, AIPH’s Expo expertise was visible across the international events landscape. The Association opened the Landscape Istanbul Fair, which also hosted the World Urban Parks Symposium, contributed to industry panel sessions at GreenItaly, and supported business-to-business engagement at Hortex Vietnam, both among AIPH’s newly approved trade fairs in 2025, reinforcing the links between Expos, professional horticulture, trade, and urban development.
AIPH also served on the International Jury for both Euroflora in Italy and the Goyang International Flower Festival in the Republic of Korea, helping to uphold international standards of excellence in exhibition design, storytelling, and horticultural presentation.
The year also saw AIPH actively promoting the economic, educational, and environmental value of hosting an International Horticultural Expo to prospective host cities and mega-event suppliers. This included participation at the MEI Hosts and Federations Summit in Lausanne and Host City in Glasgow, where AIPH shared insights into Expo delivery, governance, and long-term impact.
Supporting this outward-facing work, the AIPH Expo Support Programme continues to expand, with new guidance documents in development to assist organisers — including resources focused on opening ceremony planning and international participation, strengthening consistency and support across the global Expo portfolio.
The jury is currently evaluating entries for the AIPH World Green City Awards 2026. This Award continues to highlight the cities leading the way in nature-positive planning and to demonstrate the transformative power of plants in urban environments. These Awards remain central to our mission to inspire global green change.
This year also marked an important milestone for the Green City programme with the international showcase of the AIPH Green City Standard in Brazil, a significant step toward establishing a shared global framework for assessing and advancing nature-based urban development.
Members and partners can stay informed about upcoming announcements, stories, and case studies through the monthly AIPH Global Green City Update.
Throughout 2025, FloraCulture International magazine continued to bring together voices from across the global horticultural supply chain. From technology and sustainability to substrates, cut flowers, plant health, logistics, and plant breeders’ rights, FCI’s themed issues offered thoughtful, practical perspectives for growers and professionals worldwide.
We look forward to another year of storytelling, expertise, and connection in 2026.
Across continents and time zones, our members share initiatives, innovations, campaigns, and stories that reveal the heart of this industry. We are proud to showcase their achievements and grateful for the leadership they demonstrate.
This year, we were delighted to welcome several new Full and Affiliate Members. Each brings valuable knowledge, experience, and regional insight. We look forward to working alongside them as our network continues to grow.
This year, our network continued to grow, welcoming Full and Affiliate Members from around the world.
Each new member strengthens our international voice and deepens the knowledge, experience, and creativity shared across the AIPH community.
Your shared stories are featured regularly on our site.
At the Annual Congress, members re-elected Leonardo Capitanio as President and welcomed Jack Goossens as Vice President, with Youfei Wang joining as the Region VII Representative. We also thanked Bill Hardy and Roberto Hideyuki Okubo for their valued contributions.
We were also proud to celebrate AIPH President Leonardo Capitanio, who was honoured with the prestigious Montezemolo Prize, recognising his contributions to Italian horticulture and his vision for a greener future. As Mr Capitanio reflected:
“Receiving the Montezemolo Prize means more than a personal achievement: it’s a tribute to the value of Italian floriculture and to all the people who dedicate their lives to growing beauty, culture and sustainability through plants… This award celebrates the idea that agriculture today is not only about production, but about vision… Personally, it reminds me that our mission is to keep doing — to turn ideas into action.”
As we bring this full and productive year to a close, we want to thank our members for your contributions, your collaboration, and your belief in the power of plants to shape a better world. The progress we make each year is grounded in the strength of this community, and 2025 was no exception — from major gatherings and Expo milestones to shared learning opportunities such as our first AIPH AI Webinar, which brought members together to explore how emerging technologies can support smarter, more resilient horticultural businesses.
In 2026, AIPH will continue to inspire global demand for flowers and plants, protect and promote sustainable horticultural production, connect knowledge through trusted data and shared learning, celebrate excellence across our industry, and strengthen the network of growers and associations that drives our mission forward.
As always, the AIPH Team — Tim Briercliffe, Treve Evans, Audrey Timm, Elena Terekhova, Rosie Hakes, Rachel Wakefield, Hannah Pinnells, Van Tran, Katrina Stroud, Angie Duffree, and Ron van der Ploeg — remains dedicated to supporting members across every part of our work, from Expos and plant health to communications, sustainability, strategy, and global partnerships.
We wish you a peaceful festive season and a bright, flourishing New Year.
