Iranian businessman and grower Hossein Jafarzadeh was one of the exhibitors at the IFTF international floriculture trade fair in Vijfhuizen. In anticipation of the possible relaxation of export opportunities for Iranian plants and flowers, he has been making an appearance at the trade shows.
Back in Iran, he grows cacti, succulents and green plants and he also trades the plants of 75 other growers. He’s a shareholder in a few Indonesian companies that grow Lucky Bamboo and he’s just opened an office in Russia.
Hossein Jafarzadeh is a grower and a businessman; he recently took part in the Flowers Expo in Moscow. Last week, he exhibited at IFTF in Vijfhuizen. At least, that was the intention. But he had problems obtaining a visa, so Dutchman Pierre van den Ende, active in Iran for Sakata, ended up manning the Fadak Flower booth.
90 million
The Iranian market may become very attractive in the near future, said Van den Ende. “Iran has a population of 90 million; the Iranians are entrepreneurial and have a trading mentality, the country’s wealth is slowly increasing and Iranians have a connection with plants and flowers. Much more than in the Arab countries.”
According to Van den Ende, who visited the country several times, plants and flowers are more than just something for the major holidays. It’s common to give plants and flowers as presents, too. Moreover, a lot of effort is spent on making the capital Tehran and other cities look attractive with bedding plants.
Plant and flower cultivation is quite big in Iran. Dick van Raamsdonk of HPP Exhibitions, who organised a floriculture trade fair in Tehran last year, recently mentioned there’s 40,000 ha of horticulture in the country. A large part of this consists of plant and flower cultivation.
Van den Ende confirms these facts. There are horticultural areas around Tehran, in the north nearby the Caspian Sea, south of Mahallat and nearby Isfahan. The country has four different climate zones.
Difficult to export
Most of the produce stays within the country. It’s difficult for Iranians to export to other countries, both because of logistics and because of all the necessary paperwork. And there are international sanctions against the country. Iran is currently exporting to countries in the region, such as Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. This mostly concerns trees and shrubs.
Exporting to Iran is difficult too and prohibited for certain products. Receiving money directly from Iranian banks isn’t possible. And the market for floricultural end products is closed. But bringing in young plants is allowed.
Hossein Jafarzadeh expects that this will change. Van den Ende refers to him as a man with a vision. “He’s visiting trade fairs in Russia and the Netherlands now, so that he can sow in the near future.”
American elections
Van den Ende still holds back a bit though. “Iran has the potential to become a huge market. But the key question remains: how are the international relations between Iran and the rest of the world going to develop?”
Van den Ende believes that a lot will depend on the outcome of the American elections. But all in all, he does have the feeling that Iranians think that the import and export of plants and flowers is going to be easier in the nearby future.
