The first International Exhibition & Conference for Horticultural and Floricultural Production and Processing Technology in Viet Nam (Hortex Vietnam) will be held in HCM City in March next year.

The event will provide an ideal platform for domestic and foreign players in the horticultural and floricultural sector to exchange information and explore business opportunities.

HortEx Vietnam 2018 is expected to attract around 120 local and international exhibitors.

On display will be equipment and technologies for the vegetable, flower and fruits industries, including green buildings, preservation and cooling, sorting and packaging, gardening tools; equipments for cultivation, post-harvest and processing of fresh vegetables; and flowers, ornamental plants, plant nutrition, garden and landscape architecture.

The exhibition will also include professional seminars and a business-to-business matching programme, said Kuno Jacobs, managing director of Nova Exhibitions B.V, one of the event’s organisers.

The organisers will provide support to potential buyers and farmers from other cities and provinces to visit the exhibition.

Held by Minh Vi Exhibition and Advertisement Service Co., Ltd and the Netherlands’ Nova Exhibitions BV, the exhibition will be held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre from March 14-16.

It is expected to welcome around 3,500 trade visitors across Viet Nam and other countries.

Horticulture and floriculture are one of the most promising sectors of the Vietnamese economy. According to experts, Viet Nam has the potential to become one of the world’s largest flower exporters, according to the organisers.

In addition, the country’s fruits and vegetables exports have enjoyed strong growth in the past years, with an average rate of 26.5 per cent a year, from US$439 million in 2009 to nearly $2.5 billion last year, Dr. Nguyen Huu Dat, board member of the Viet Nam Fruits and Vegetables Association, said.

The figure reached $1.36 billion in the first five months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 138 per cent, he said. — VNS