Makers of IPM satisfied despite fewer visitors and exhibitors

Despite a slight decline in both the number of visitors as well as exhibitors at the international plant fair IPM, event organisers Messe Essen make "a consistently positive assessment," says CEO Oliver P. Kuhrt: "We are pleased that the world's leading fair for horticulture was again a top-class platform on which the points were set for the horticultural year lying ahead of us".
According to the official final report, around 53 000 visitors, so around 1.9 per cent less than the previous year (54 000), attended from 22 to 25 January 2019. The number of exhibitors decreased by around 2.0 per cent to 1 546. However the fair grew in its internationality: the foreign portion of exhibitors rose from 63 to 65 per cent; 46 countries (2018: 45) were represented by visitors.
The overriding topics of this year's IPM, as also highlighted in the final report, can be determined as sustainability and climate change. In terms of plants, topics included varieties tolerant to stresses and heat as well as bee and insect-friendly growths. In addition, environmentally friendly packaging or organic fertilisers and substrates were an important topic at the fair.
A large special presentation inspiring ideas for POS could be seen under the title of IPM Discovery Center. Here, the Dutch green Stylist Romeo Sommers designed real shop situations on current trends such as air-cleaning house plants.