It's the second day of Hortex, the tradeshow taking place in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, and as expected, it's a very busy day. Growers visiting the trade show are looking for knowledge, tools, and utilities to improve their cultivation.
The trade show revolves around the horticultural and floricultural industries in Vietnam and surrounding countries.
Hi team Europrogress!
The most important growing region in Vietnam is Da Lat, which is situated in the Lam Dong province, in the higher lands, with an altitude of approximately 1500m. In the past three decades, the greenhouse acreage here has expanded rapidly, with the current acreage estimated at around 2500 hectares of greenhouses. Many farms operate on a small scale, with plastic sheeting protecting their crops from the high temperatures and rain. Several players opt for a more technically challenging way of growing to improve their revenues and stabilize production.
Although the greenhouses contribute to higher efficiency in cultivation and a more secure income for the growers, a current challenge for the industry is the government establishing programs to remove a part of the greenhouses from the city center, as they are said to contribute to the build-up of agri-plastic waste, with no formal system for recycling, and floods.
Gerrit Bulk, Bejo Vietnam, visits Carl van Loon, Powerplants.
Lam Dong has set a target to reduce the area used by greenhouses. Loan packages are proposed to switch from greenhouse to outdoor cultivation.
A solution to these challenges, offered by several suppliers on the show, is a more technical way of growing. Options to improve irrigation, reduce the use of chemicals, increase yields, and reduce losses by improving the first stage of the cultivation with better substrates or to realize stronger structures more resistant to weather circumstances are broadly shared on the tradeshow. This includes irrigation control tools, beneficial insects for integrated pest management, sensors to get a better grip over the greenhouse climate, and greenhouse structures offered by Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and Chinese suppliers, as well as a remarkable number of Turkish suppliers of fertilizer, and several different greenhouse tools and techniques. Also, the knowledge sessions were organized to share information on this.
The show floor is completed with participants from the flower industry and several local export companies.
Netherlands Vietnam Horti Business Platform
Wang LinHu and Jackson of Metazet Formflex and Mao Liu, Van der Knaap, were present together with their partners of Lijiang Flowers, known for their Calla production and trade in China.
Tomorrow, we'll post an update of day three on the show, and a complete photo report will follow next week.