Recently I was asked if it is really worth the time, effort and expense to attend trade shows. This was asked of me in reference to the recent Proflora show in Bogota, Colombia, an event that I have attended every other year for longer than I care to admit. Time away from the office and farms, time away from my family, 20 hours of round-trip travel time — all powerful reasons to say that these shows are not really worth the financial, physical and psychological outlay.

Why then, as the show drew to its close at the end of the third and final day, was I wishing that I had more time to visit with those I had not yet found the time to see or to finalize discussions that had more to define? Time grew short and I was glad to have been able to accomplish as much as I did, yet I wished for just a few more hours.

Eric Mahannah, buyer at Koehler & Dramm in Minneapolis, with Pablo Restrepo, owner at Excellence Flowers LTDA in Bogota, Colombia, at the 2015 Proflora show in Colombia.Proflora kicked off with a presentation by the vice president of Colombia, German Vargas Lleras, who outlined the Juan Manuel Santos administration’s ambitious goals to modernize Colombia’s ports, railroads, airports and highways, drawing particularly loud applause when discussing projects aimed at alleviating the horrific traffic that is a daily reality for Bogotanos. With the speeches done, the exhibitors and guests filed into the Corferias Center to attend to business. This year’s show was comprised of 230 exhibitors and it drew over 7,000 international attendees from 60 countries. Flower growers, transportation companies, plant breeders, technology firms and agriculture suppliers were among those present and ready for business. Many new varieties of roses were displayed, as were interesting shades of antique-colored carnations, chrysanthemum varieties that were better suited for shipment by sea container, hydrangea of all shades, alstroemeria with larger and more blooms per stem, and many other new developments were on hand for review.

Proflora has become one of the key international shows, allowing for quality conversations with attendees from countries that included Japan, Israel, Italy, Romania, Russia, Canada, China, India, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Dubai and the United Kingdom. I find it interesting to validate or disprove industry rumors about market and growing situations in different parts of the world with first-hand accounts from those varied regions. Unique approaches to growing, packaging, or marketing that are standard in other markets could be the edge needed to stand out in the North American market. These opportunities are not unique to Proflora — other shows offer similar circumstances — but taken in aggregate, the displays, contacts and closing party at Andrés make Proflora a “must-visit” on the floral convention circuit.

Was it worth it? I will see you at Proflora 2017.

Frank Biddle is a partner at Tradewinds International LLC and owner and president of FBI Flowers in Vista, CA. He can be contacted at [email protected].