HortEx Vietnam 2020, The 3rd International Exhibition & Conference for Horticultural and Floricultural Production and Processing Technology in Vietnam took place from 26-28 February 2020 at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center (SECC).
HortEx Vietnam is being organized by Minh Vi Exhibition and Advertisement Services Co., Ltd (VEAS) from Vietnam, Nova Exhibitions B.V. from The Netherlands and Great Wall International Exhibition Company from China.
HortEx Vietnam is the largest and most important exhibition for the horticulture and floriculture sector in Vietnam and neighboring countries.
Due to the COVID 19 outbreak in 2020, HortEx Vietnam 2020, has seen a significant drop in visitor numbers, visiting countries and participating companies.
Due to efforts from the government to control the virus, Vietnam did not issue (business) visa to Chinese citizens at the time of the exhibition, this resulted in cancellations of all Chinese participants and visitors. In addition, a number of local and international companies have withdrawn from participation in 2020.
However, HortEx Vietnam 2020 still hosted 129 key industry players from 21 countries.
Countries with high-tech developed agriculture and horticulture were leading the number of exhibitors with official country participations such as: The Netherlands (23 participants), Israel (13 participants) and Spain (7 participants).
The official country participants were respectively being organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in Vietnam, The Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute and AGRAGEX, the Spanish Exporters Association of Agricultural Machinery and its components, Greenhouses and Crop Protection, Irrigation Systems, Livestock Equipment, Nutrition and Animal Health, Forestry Machinery, Biomass and Post-Harvesting Equipment.
HortEx Vietnam 2020 has collaborated with national and international organizations to build an effective and professional networking forum, such as: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) – Department of Crop Production, Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in Vietnam, Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Agro Processing and Market Development Authority – Agrotrade, VinaFruit – Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, Dalat Flower Association and Vietnam Seed Trade Association.
One of the most prominent activities within of the exhibition was the second edition of the Export Forum. The Export Forum addressed important issues related to successful fruit and vegetable exports to Asian and European markets.
Once again the Export Forum proved to be the right place to provide information and regulations policies, related to export markets through special topics such as: Market opportunities for Vietnam fruit in Europe (Mr. Jos Leeters, Director, Bureau Leeters, The Netherlands); Quality come first – The importance of meeting quality standards, food safety and certification when exporting (Ms. Mirjam Boekestijn, Director International Food Projects, Kenlog B.V., The Netherlands); Current status ad solutions for sustainable development of fruit tree in Vietnam (Mr. Le Van Duc, Deputy Director General, Department of Crop Production – Ministry of Agriculture& Rural development of Vietnam (MARD) ); etc.
In extension to the Export Forum the Technical Seminar Program were one of the annual series of activities at the exhibition. A number of leading companies and institutions updated visitors on market developments, trends, forecasts and technological solutions in the horticultural and floricultural industry.
Besides the Export Forum and Technical Seminar Programs, the B2B Business Matching Program was one of the most focused activities at the exhibition. The organizer assisted participants choose the right customers, schedule appointments and meet face-to-face with potential partners at their booth. The program enabled participants to introduce their products to customers quickly, economically and efficiently.
Even though that the number of visitors and participants dropped due to the COVID 19 outbreak, HortEx Vietnam 2020 proved once again to be an excellent tool for companies to start or expand their business activities in Vietnam and neighboring countries.
The organisers of HortEx Vietnam do not expect that the disruption of the COVID 19 outbreak in 2020 will affect the growth of the exhibition in the long run and already for 2021 the organizers expect to continue the growth path of HortEx Vietnam.
The next edition of HortEx Vietnam is scheduled for 17-19 March 2021.
