The salient features and unique advanced facilities at the Dubai Flower Centre (DFC) were showcased to an international audience at the International Horti Fair that was held from Oct. 31 - Nov. 03, 2006 at the RAI International Exhibition and Congress Centre in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The 80-square meter DFC exhibition stand which had five tenants was an ample illustration of the attractive elements that the Dubai facility offers. Mr. Ibrahim Ahli, Marketing Director of DFC along with other officials were at the Horti Fair, which saw the participation of a record number of 1,005 companies from 51 countries and attracted 49,837 horticultural professionals from over 110 countries.

“Horti Fair, a leading event in the international horticultural industry’s calendar, was an ideal occasion to highlight Dubai’s one-stop destination for international flower growers and exporters that has already generated substantial interest among the global perishable industry players. Growers from various regions showed significant interest in learning more about the state-of-the-art facilities at the DFC,” said Mr. Ahli.

The DFC is a one-stop shop for local and international buyers, traders and exporters that offers several benefits including a closed loop supply chain system that ensures the right temperature from aircraft to the climate-controlled zone, a supply chain intelligence that offers state-of-the-art computerized tracking system, and a business-friendly free-zone environment.
“This year the organizers of the fair had the layout categorized into the four segments –  production, technology, supplies and trade/services –  in order to serve the requirements of the visitors better,” said Mr. Ahli.
Around 50 representatives of the retail trade and suppliers were present in the House of Retail where there was a presentation on floriculture retail logistics. The meeting was led by Ronald van Solt, former CEO of Albert Heijn, who spoke about the new logistical system developed in cooperation with various partners in the supply chain. The delegates were told the introduction of the Procona packaging system had greatly increased efficiency, reduced costs and boosted turnover. Moreover David Fryer of Tesco and Jan-Paul Rijke of Intergreen discussed the pros and cons of this form of partnership in the retail chain.
At another executive meeting speakers including Felix Schrandt of the Flower Council of Holland (FCH) and Jan Willem Grievink of the Erasmus Food Centre spoke about the latest developments in the horticulture/floriculture industry.

“The DFC stand at the Horti Fair received several enquiries from the participants and delegates who wanted to learn more about the key features at the Dubai facility. These included information about the computerized tracking system that ensures access to all parties, allowing exporters and importers the ability to track the flight status, product loadings and temperature of their products through the supply chain process,” said Mr. Ahli.
DFC caters not only to flowers but anything that is perishable and needs a cool chain process, like fruits, vegetables and fresh meat or fish, pointed out Mr. Ahli.
“Following the exhibition at the Amsterdam Fair and going by the interest already generated among the global players, the DFC is set to see an increasing number of tenants from all around the world,” concluded Mr. Ahli.

© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)