RIYADH, 16 January — A major flower design contest will be organized by the Dutch Embassy in cooperation with a leading local company, Al-Zanabig Int'l Trade Est., here on Jan. 24 in a move to promote flower sales in the Kingdom. A number of prominent agriculture farms, flower shops and nurseries from the Gulf countries will participate in the flower show.
There will be 60 flower patterns on display from the whole Gulf region during this three-day even titled as"Zanabig Floral Design Contest", said Jos G. van de Vooren, agriculture counselor at the Dutch mission here yesterday. Fresh flowers from Holland will be on display besides locally grown flowers of the ITA Agri Co.
The Netherlands exports a large variety of flowers and plants to Saudi Arabia. It is estimated that there are 3,000 flower growers, 6,000 wholesalers and 10,000 retailers and landscape contractors in the ornamental horticulture sector in the country. The area under flower cultivation in Holland has increased from 10,000 hectares in 1960 to 17,000 hectares at present. The Netherlands is internationally known as the center of 70 percent of world's floral trade.
The total exports of the Dutch flowers exceeded SR42 billion last year, representing a nine percent growth compared to 1999. The Kingdom is one of the largest flower importing countries in the Gulf region with its total imports of flowers, dried flowers, plants and foliage amounting to SR14 million annually.
Vooren said that the embassy and Al-Zanabig Est. would award prizes to participants who will exhibit new and attractive floral designs during the event.
The flower show, at Tuwaiq Palace in the Diplomatic Quarter., will be open for the public including families from 4.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Jan 26. The winners will be awarded on Jan. 25.
The jury, which will pick up the winners of the contest, is chaired by Bart van der Elsken, who has won the prize for the best stand at the 'International Flower Trade Show' three years in a row. A prominent Saudi teacher of floral design working at the College of Education of King Saud University, Masouda Qurban, is also one of the members of the jury.
Asked about bilateral cooperation in agriculture, Vooren said the Kingdom had been invited to participate in "Floriade", the world's largest flower exhibition in Amsterdam in the year 2002. The show is organized every 10 years. The exhibition site covers an area of 50 hectares of land in Amsterdam. The event is likely to attract more than 3.8 million visitors besides 200,000 professionals. The Netherlands Horticultural Council is the main driving force behind the event.
The Saudi-Dutch cooperation in agriculture started first in the form of the Saudi Potato Development Program in 1975, which was expanded into Saudi Agricultural Development Program in 1991. The Dutch expertise, however, is currently being used in animal husbandry, dairy, artificial insemination, poultry and food processing.
