Hyderabad: Fresh flowers to flourish at International Flora Expo

• Over 300 companies to participate in three-day blooming extravaganza from February 28

• India is poised to become the world's 3rd largest consumer market by 2025

Hyderabad: To showcase India's strength in floriculture sector and to leverage huge potential for domestic consumption and exports, over 300 companies and producers, entities are expected to participate at the 15th International Flora Expo 2020 at Hyderabad from February 28, 2020. The three-day blooming extravaganza aims to explore trade opportunities both in India's domestic market as well as external trade in floriculture. The focus would be on promoting fresh flowers.

The Expo would bring together the growers and floriculture industry bodies to promote the fresh flower consumption in the country. The event is scheduled during February 28 - March 1 at HITEX Exhibition Center.

The Expo will provide a platform for convergence of global business interests such as conventional flower and gardening industry professionals, bulk buyers from large industry, florists, retailers such as home centres, supermarkets, departmental stores, interior designers and interior shops to exchange views on expanding their business avenues by availing the opportunities, said Sayed Jafar Naqvi, President, Iflora

The three-day event is accompanied by a roundtable conference to bring together the decision-makers and CEOs of commercial floriculture industry on a single platform on February 28. Another attraction would be an International Flora Championship especially designed for apprentice and professional floral designers, florist, and event managers. This Championship will take place on all the three days. Along with these events, the International Landscape Industry Congress 2020 will take place on February 29.

"With around 300 million strong middle and affluent class out of the 1.34 billion population, India is poised to become the world's 3rd largest consumer market by 2025 by which time the country's percentage of super-elite households is expected to rise five-fold. The growing purchasing power and the rising influence of the social media have enabled Indian consumers to splurge on good things, said, Naqvi

India also has a sizeable nursery industry with major hubs located in Hyderabad (Telangana), Rajamundry, Kadiyam (Andhra Pradesh), Kalimpong (West Bengal), Pune (Maharashtra), Gajrola and Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Bengaluru (Karnataka) etc. India is poised to become the top flower trading centre in South Asia.

The event is expected to attract over 300 companies related to landscape and gardening, seeds and planting material, machines & equipment, supply chain, processed flowers, packaging, decoration, plant pots and accessories, Irrigation and Fertigation Systems, hydroponics and aquaponics, greenhouse technologies, etc. Over 20,000 people are expected to visit over the three days of the exhibition.