Floriculture industry keen to utilise Dubai Flower Centre's modern infrastructure

This was conveyed to Mr. Ibrahim Ahli, Marketing Director, DFC, who was on a recent visit to the Central Asian region including Iran. Mr. Ahli said: "Central Asian and Iranian flower exporters can greatly benefit from the proximity of Dubai and its excellent infrastructure including the DFC's cool supply chain that offers the ideal solution for transhipment of perishable cargo from these regions."

"The 180,000-tonnes per annum capacity DFC already houses international operators offering various services, which could immensely help countries from the region to increase their exports," Mr. Ahli added.

In fact Iranian exporters, who seek to supply their products to markets in the Middle East, Europe and Far East besides other countries in Central Asia and the CIS regions, can tap the facilities at DFC to maximize their returns, added Mr. Ahli.

According to official figures, there are more than 3,000 flower production units across Iran and diversity of cut flower production in the country is recognized worldwide as unique. More than 1,486 million stems of cut flowers, 120 million trees and shrubs and 38 million pot plants are produced in Iran every year.

The country is also well known globally for its diverse floriculture products including tulips, hyacinth, iris, cyclamens and others. Iran has also increased the production of its gladiolus, roses, tuberoses, chrysanthemums and carnations, which offer tremendous export potential according to the country's, own estimates.

However, Iranian floriculture industry can benefit additionally through DFC in terms of logistical support for exporters and producers. Iranian producers can avoid the nearly one million stems that are wasted every day due to lack of enough storage facilities.

"We can assure the Iranian producers and exporters that at the DFC we offer a free zone environment, no customs duty for cargo in transit and our connectivity to global markets through more than 117 airlines operating from the Dubai International Airport," pointed out Mr. Ahli.

Moreover, by paying a five per cent customs duty, they can also send their products directly to any GCC country through the DFC, he added.

Currently Iran is planning to build four terminals to cater to the various regions in the country. They will be in Mazandaran in northern Iran, Markazi province (Mahallat) in central Iran, Khuzestan (Dezful) in the south, and one in Teheran. These terminals are expected to be linked to hubs like Dubai, Germany and The Netherlands.

During his visit to Iran, Mr. Ahli met with officials of various organizations in the industry who have agreed to work towards creating an improved connectivity with the DFC. A team from 'Floriculture, Turfglass and Landscape Architecture' magazine has also come forward to collaborate with the DFC and provide the producers, exporters and companies up-to-date information about participating in exhibitions including the IPM Dubai in March 2007.

"We noticed an eagerness from the Iranian industry professionals and other officials to cooperate and participate to work towards improving logistical support for the exporters. The DFC which has already established itself as one of the leading transhipment hub for perishable goods can surely support the Iranian floriculture industry as we have the necessary infrastructure to meet their requirements," said Mr. Ahli.

The DFC - a one-stop shop for local and international buyers, traders and exporters - offers several benefits including a closed loop supply chain system that ensures the right temperature from aircraft to the climate-controlled zone, a supply chain intelligence that offers state-of-the-art computerized tracking system, and a business-friendly free-zone environment.

More importantly, the computerized tracking system ensures access to all parties, allowing exporters and importers the ability to track the flight status, product loadings and temperature of their products through the supply chain process.

"Facilities at the DFC cater not just to flowers but anything that is perishable and needs a cool chain process, like fruits, vegetables and fresh meat or fish," pointed out Mr. Ahli.