A 20 percent increase in pre-registrations for Agriflor, the international flower exhibition in Quito, Ecuador, Oct. 1-4, has organizers very excited. The 135,000-square-foot CEMEXPO Exhibition Center will be filled with flowers, international visitors and over 200 exhibitors, according to a news release from organizer HPP Exhibitions in Amsterdam.

Frank Biddle, owner and managing partner at Tradewinds International in Boulder, CO, told The Produce News that he’s attended Agriflor since 1996.

The hunt for trends is a roller coaster ride for our design team. Deciphering and categorizing the plethora of available information can be quite a challenge. As we work through it all, we begin to see certain trends emerge and grow and take on a life of their own; the following four stand out, and apply to broad applications, including floral sleeves and packaging.

Some feel the poinsettia is turning into a common plant with nowhere to go but down in sales and popularity, but is that really where it is heading?

With more than 100 varieties of this incredible plant, along with a clean bill of health on the toxicity claims that once haunted it (although we do not suggest you toss a salad with your holiday poinsettia — it is no longer considered toxic or deadly); the USDA estimates there will be $250 million dollars worth of poinsettia sales in 2014, which makes it the best-selling potted plant in America.

Transportation continues to be an ever-increasing expense across all segments of the floral industry. Prime Inc., headquartered in Springfield, MO, and one of North America’s busier trucking companies for over 40 years, services the floral supply chain by transporting fresh cut flowers and plants nationwide in temperature-controlled vehicles and considers productivity to be a key issue.

As kids head back to school this month, many will be singing “The wheels on the bus go round and round,” but for most of the floral industry the song is really “The wheels on the truck go round and round.” With transportation comprising a major component of cost of goods across all sectors of the industry, this month’s Floral Marketing section examines transportation from several different perspectives.

The Quebec Produce Marketing Association held its 67th annual convention in scenic Charlevoix, QC, at the Fairmont Manoir Richelieu Aug. 21-24. Under the umbrella theme “People at the Heart of the Industry,” more than 500 guests attended the banquet, and attendees enjoyed unique networking events, business sessions, meetings and motivational speeches. The 2013-14 QPMA president, Marie Gosselin of Les Serres du St-Laurent (Savoura), and her husband, Marc Boutet, along with Convention Chair Enrico Charest of Sobeys Quebec Inc.