Year-end reflections

Added on 14 December 2022

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As the Stoicic philosopher Seneca taught us: there is power in reflection. What better way to do so than flipping through the past 11 editions from FloraCulture International?

Sorry to start with a worn out saying, but time really flies. Twelve months ago, my homeland, the Netherlands was still in a partial lockdown. Fast forward to today, one could say that the world ended the pandemic’s acute stage in 2022, as evidenced in our sector by the return of full physical trade shows such as Myplant, GreenTech, IFTF, Trade Fair Aalsmeer, and, next month, IPM Essen.

But the near-to-finish line of Covid-19 – at the time of writing with a death toll of 6,624,118 deaths, that is nearly the size of Denmark’s entire population – has not ended the woes for ornamental horticulture. Now, we face exorbitant commodity prices, including energy and un unprecendeted labour crisis.