The 26th Hortiflorexpo IPM Beijing on May 24, 2024 Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

Foreign companies are flocking to the 26th Hortiflorexpo IPM Beijing, an annual industry expo showcasing flowers, plants and gardening, eager to capitalize on the potential of China's burgeoning consumer market.

The three-day expo, which runs from Thursday to Saturday, provides a rare opportunity for foreign businesses to engage with both their existing partners and new ones.

The exhibition spans an area of 50,000 square meters, hosting around 700 exhibitors and showcasing over 500 plant varieties. It is anticipated that over 60,000 visitors from more than 30 countries and regions will attend the event, according to media reports.

At the expo, several representatives of foreign companies expressed a positive outlook for the vast Chinese market and readiness for further investment.

The scene was bustling with a lively atmosphere, as visitors took pictures, while exhibitors from both domestic and international firms were engaged in busy discussions with potential partners.

Bas de Bekker, sales manager at Meteor Systems headquartered in the Netherlands, is hoping to promote his company's growing systems for vegetables, flowers and herbs.

"We are here because China is a very good market for us. We see the growing demand for high quality products and we try to produce with local people to better serve the Chinese market," de Bekker told the Global Times.

De Bekker said that he has noticed the expansion of China's middle-income group, who have more demand for quality food, which also presents a good opportunity for them.

The company's business has been growing and this year, they expect revenue growth of around 50 percent year-on-year.

Mattijs Van Loon, a sales representative for Bogaerts, a greenhouse logistics company based in Belgium, also praised the potential of the Chinese market.

The company designs and constructs logistical solutions for greenhouses in around 45 countries worldwide. China is a new market for them but the potential is huge.

"If you look at the past 10 years, there has been a huge increase in investment in China, particularly in high-tech greenhouses," Van Loon said.

The past few years have been challenging, with people tending to save more money than they spent, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, "but still, the need for more greenhouses in China is huge," he said.

Zhang Tianli, chief representative of Selecta-One China, a company specializing in breeding, growing, and marketing innovative plants, told the Global Times that their business in China has seen continuous growth, thanks to the increase in consumption in the country.

"Having localized much of our production in China, the pandemic's impact on us has been minimal, enabling us to maintain growth," Zhang said. The company's flower business has consistently maintained an annual growth rate of 30-50 percent, he noted.

The domestic market for flowers is rebounding. In 2023, China's flower import volume reached $271.56 million, marking an increase of $37.36 million, or 15.95 percent, year-on-year. This growth came after four consecutive years of decline.