Yunnan Floral Expos are Top Draw for Industry Insiders

With a relatively low altitude and lots of high sunny plateaus, China's southwestern Yunnan province is the capital of floriculture in China, accounting for more than 75% of the nation's total output of fresh cut flowers. And with 14,533ha of land under cultivation for fresh cut flowers as of 2017, and production of 11bn stems of fresh cut flowers at a value RMB 9.2bn (more than USD 1.4bn), Yunnan province is also a globally important center for floriculture.

Given the importance of this region to the industry, it is fitting that Yunnan's capital city Kunming is home to series of annual events that are a top draw for floriculture and potted plant industry professionals. Three concurrent events will be held at the Kunming Dianchi International Convention and Exhibition Center on July 13 to 15: the 19th Kunming International Flower Expo, the 18th China Floriculture Retail Forum and the China Home Gardening Expo. Collectively, organizers call these related events the "Two expos and one conference."

Among the international exhibitors at the expos this year will be growers, breeders, purchasers and technical suppliers from Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. It will also include regional floral organizations and experts from across China, along with 3,000 Chinese retailers and hundreds of domestic floriculture and floriculture supplies and technology companies.

"The main goal for us to hold the exhibition is to improve the flower industry of Yunnan Province," according to the Yunnan Flower Technical Training and Extension Center. "Yunnan is largest flower growing area in China and has the best climate for flowers. However, we still need to work to improve output, quality and the types of flower varieties being grown here. These events are a way to let everyone in this industry focus on Yunnan flowers, and for participants to exchange the latest information on new varieties and techniques."

The Yunnan Flower Technical Training and Extension Center hopes to improve Yunnan's flower growing technology, quality, output and varieties.

In order to further this goal, organizers have arranged a number of auxiliary activities. These include a series of lectures at the convention center on topics such as "protection of breeders rights", floral ecommerce, and an introduction to Yunnan's burgeoning government-backed floral production clusters. There will additionally be opportunities throughout the expo period for field visits to the production bases of top domestic and foreign-owned growers in nearby areas of Yunnan.

Attendees can also choose to add on a variety of additional tours to various production regions and companies around Yunnan starting from July 16 and lasting from one to four days. It will also be a good chance for visitors to Kunming to see the Dounan Wholesale Flower Market, the largest flower market in Asia and second largest in the world.

Kunming's Dounan Wholesale Flower Market

Those who are interested in attending are encouraged to register through the Yunnan Flower Technical Training and Extension Center website at http://www.yunnan-flower.org.cn/. Additional English-speaking support is available by emailing 46528695@qq.com.