The LANDSCAPE ISTANBUL FAIR 2023 (LIF) / 2nd Istanbul Landscape, Landscape Materials, Ornamental Plants, Parks, and Gardens Fair, which will be held for the second time this year, will bring together thousands of purchasing professionals from both domestic and international markets with producer companies. The fair is expected to contribute to the industry’s growth by 10%.

We should secure more than $43 billion

Ornamental plant production is carried out in approximately 145 countries worldwide. While the size of the sector is estimated at $43 billion globally, the export figure is approximately $23 billion. Countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, and Kenya have become significant production areas due to low costs and favorable climate conditions, with the Netherlands leading the world in ornamental plant production and trade.

In Turkey, despite not having a long history in the sector, it has attracted attention in recent years. Turkey has increased its ornamental plant production area by 2.5 times in the last 20 years, reaching 5,687 hectares, and has begun to reap the rewards of this growth. The sector employs over 500,000 people, and its exports exceeded $137 million in 2022. Ornamental plant production stands out from other industries due to its contribution to the economy through the use of idle land, the participation of local labor in employment, and the production of high-value products for export, outside of traditional agricultural production.

The organizer of LANDSCAPE ISTANBUL FAIR (LIF) 2023 and Chairman of Athena Fuarcılık, Mustafa Gültekin Gökgül, emphasized Turkey’s recent achievements and noted that despite these, Turkey still ranks 20th on the global export list. He said, “As a country, we have the ability to produce plants suitable for all climate conditions and our competitiveness. We have the potential to gain a share from the global market and achieve higher production figures. While we have the opportunity to grow rapidly in our neighboring markets, especially in Europe, due to the increasing production costs and decreasing production quantities, focusing on this high-value market in exports is even more crucial. Our infrastructure is ready. Therefore, we expect the fair to contribute at least 10% to the growth of the sector by bringing European professionals and our producers together.”

Public support is needed

Turkey has more than 12,000 plant species, including 4,000 endemic (native to the region) ones, making it one of the richest countries in terms of biodiversity. Gökgül stated, “The product group with the highest export volume worldwide is live plants and cut flowers. Our country is highly suitable for production in terms of climate conditions and diversity. Our sector continues to grow in this field. The biggest import item in the sector is ‘large, tall trees’ due to the time of purchase preferences of the public and municipalities, which are the largest buyers in the sector. It takes at least 5 years for a tree to reach a usable age in projects. Public institutions and municipalities should support producers and prioritize the tree species and sizes available in our country’s production stocks. Furthermore, addressing sector-specific issues such as the allocation of production areas, resolving the VAT discrepancy between production inputs and final products, is essential to quickly realize the high export potential.”

Record participation expected for Peyzaj İstanbul 2023

Gökgül, who stated that early bookings for LIF 2023 exceeded expectations, expressed their intention to showcase the capabilities of the Turkish market to a broader international audience. He mentioned that the fair is expected to be visited by over 5,000 landscaping and ornamental plant professionals from approximately 40 countries. Gökgül also mentioned, “90% of the exhibitors from 2022 will also host visitors at this year’s fair. The companies making their debut at the fair represent 40% of the total area. Additionally, the fair will feature numerous leading global brands and manufacturers that will not be found in any other event in Turkey, exclusively participating in LIF 2023.”

He concluded by saying, “The potential of the sector takes us higher. Most importantly, we aim to generate at least 1 billion TL (Turkish Lira) worth of business volume from B2B meetings.”