PADUA, Italy: Italy’s oldest horticultural trade show Flormart due to take place between 9-11 February 2022 has been postponed as a result of the ongoing spread of Covid-19’s omicron variant.
The 71st edition of Flormart, the long-standing international exhibition of floriculture, floristry and landscaping, has moved to the show’s traditional dates, from 21 to 23 September 2022.
The decision was made by the organisers to ensure the presence of international buyers, currently in doubt due to the persistence of the pandemic emergency, and to guarantee maximum health safety to exhibitors and visitors.
Flormart has already activated a programme to facilitate the incoming of top sector buyers from Europe, Eastern Europe and countries in the Mediterranean region, also with the collaboration of the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) for the promotion abroad and the internationalization of Italian companies.
The road map leading to the opening of the exhibition in September, the traditional Flormart date, will include different initiatives.
An in-person conference will be held at the exhibition centre in Padua on February 9 2022, with the participation of the main players in the sector.
Keynote speakers will highlight how green infrastructure can contribute to the liveability of a city through its economic, social and environmental benefits. Flormart’s message will be a clear one: Italian grown flowers and plants play a crucial role in helping realise successful urban green spaces.
It is safe to say that Italy’s investment and reform plan for recovery (in Italian known as PNRR or Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza) from the Covid-19 emergency will be one of the topical issues in February.
The plan earmarks €6.68 billion for culture and tourism, through investments in heritage regeneration, enhancements in assets and skills, digitalisation and accessibility, targeting environmental and social sustainability.
PNRR’s paragraph on parks and gardens is crucial for ornamental horticulture in Italy as it highlights the restoration of historic parks and gardens adopting a systematic approach to urban regeneration. Its goal is to improve the quality of life and social inclusion, also among the younger generations and within urban communities. The protection of the environment and biodiversity, and people’s right to “urban green spaces’ are all important criteria for the €300 million funding programme.
Flormart is the long-standing exhibition in the sector, organised for the first time in 1975 and now in its 71st edition. It has always been an international showcase of floriculture and a platform for business matching between those who produce plants, materials, furnishings, means of production and the users, nurserymen, large garden centres, green area builders, public bodies, Italian and European real estate groups, Italian and foreign buyers. Starting in 2021, a ten-year agreement with Padova Hall has created a partnership that entrusts the organization of Flormart to Fiere di Parma, while keeping the event anchored in the city of Padua and its exhibition centre, which is undergoing a comprehensive renovation project.
In value terms, the Italian floriculture sector accounts for about 5% of national agricultural production, with a turnover of about 2.6 billion euros (Crea elaboration on ISTAT data, 2020). Potted plants and nurseries (plants and shrubs) make up 52% of production, with fresh cut flowers and foliage accounting for the rest. Italy on its own accounts for about 15% of EU production. Exports increased by 33.14% in the first 6 months of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020 (ICE data).
