Growing international appeal

The International Trade Fair for Plants (IPM) welcomed more exhibitors than ever this year. At the four-day show at the end of January, 1 604 companies from 49 countries presented products and services covering the entire horticultural value-added chain. At 56 500, the number of visitors was slightly below the previous year’s total of 57 000 and many exhibitors felt that attendance was down somewhat on the first day of the show.
On the other hand, the show proved once again to have increased its international appeal. 43 per cent of visitors came to Essen from abroad, compared with 36 per cent in 2014. Most of the visitors (83 per cent) were from European countries, but Messe Essen saw a rise in attendees from America (six per cent of all visitors) and Asia (nine per cent) in particular. According to a survey, 93 per cent of visitors planned to visit the show again next year, while 97 per cent of exhibitors said they would participate again.
The accompanying programme was once more characterised by various competitions and awards for new products and innovations. For example, 39 exhibitors submitted 65 new products for the IPM Innovation Showcase. The Show Your Colours Award, organised jointly by BIZZ Holland and Messe Essen, was awarded to the plant with the most significant added value.

The considerable significance of IPM Essen for the international horticultural industry was highlighted by the number of national pavilions at the show: 18 countries took advantage of these to present themselves at the fair.
The China Pavilion made its debut in 2015; India was also represented by a joint stand for the first time. Sri Lanka had two joint stands, one featuring suppliers of horticultural technology as in the previous year, the other an entirely new stand for plant producers. The other countries with pavilions were Belgium, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Hungary and the USA.
The International Horticultural Forum was dedicated this year to the general conditions and market prospects in Spain, a country much in demand as a plant exporter.
One of the major topics covered at the show was “The Value of the Plant”, which the German sector in particular has discovered for itself. The…