This second day focuses on practical and technical aspects with field tours where more than 300 participants can observe begonias, cacti and violets, among others, depending on the program.
The event also includes an exhibition with more than 30 stands from suppliers of the value chain, supplies, transport and services for these plants.
Local and international experts spoke the day before on topics such as innovation, marketing, logistics, diversification, opportunities, trends, climate change, sustainability and how the global situation affects the industry.
This country has great advantages that distinguish it from its competitors, said the president of the Ornamental Plants, Foliage and Flowers Commission of the Guatemalan Exporters Association, José Cabarrús.
The managing director mentioned the trained and specialized human resources, the climate and the quality, which enabled the production of more than 500 species and three thousand varieties in an area of 3,500 hectares, with year-round production, he emphasized.
He added that the top ten most sought-after local products consist of leather leaves, yucca, beaucarnea, dracena, roses, chamadorrea, asparagus sp, thillandsia, sansevieria and the croton plant.
“We are proud of the floriculture industry as it has managed to maintain a constant growth of eight to twelve percent per year, with exports exceeding $120 million in 2022,” Cabarrús emphasized.
At the end of June 2023, official data from Agexport showed that Guatemala generated $66 million in income thanks to the direct and indirect work in this sector of 60,000 people, 75 percent of whom are women in rural areas.
jha/znc