Who we are

Union Fleurs was founded in 1959 in Brussels as an international umbrella organisation for national associations and companies active in the floricultural trade.

Its main purpose is to represent and promote the interests of traders of cut flowers, cut foliage and pot plants.

Union Fleurs has nowadays members in 20 countries worldwide, gathering over 3.000 companies involved in the import, export, wholesale and distribution of cut flowers and pot plants.

Membership accounts for 80% of the total value of worldwide trade of cut flowers and pot plants. All the major players in the floricultural trade are represented in the organisation.

Mission and Objectives

More specifically, Union Fleurs actively pursues the following objectives:

To safeguard and promote matters of general interest to the international floricultural trade;
To promote the visibility of the floricultural sector and a favourable trading environment;
To defend and represent the interests of the international floricultural trade at international fora and with international bodies and authorities worldwide;
To exchange, collect and distribute information on the world floricultural market;
To provide a networking platform where members can meet and exchange views.

Board of Directors

The Union Fleurs Board of Directors was most recently elected at the Union Fleurs General Assembly in Essen (Germany) on 13 June 2022 for the period 2022-2024 and is composed of:

President: Augusto Solano (Asocolflores / Colombia)
Vice-President: Frank Zeiler (BGI / Germany)
Chairman – EU Section: Matthijs Mesken (VGB / Netherlands)
Chairman – World Trade Committee: Clement Tulezi (Kenya Flower Council / Kenya)
Chairman – Pot Plant Committee: Peter Larsen-Ledet (FloraDania/ Denmark)
Relationships Manager: Paolo di Massa (ANCEF / Italy)
Secretary General: Sylvie Mamias

Meet the team

Sylvie Mamias
Secretary General

T: +32 498 59 59 38
Email: secgen@unionfleurs.org

Languages: French, English & German

Governance

The General Assembly is the supreme body of Union Fleurs and is composed of the delegates of Union Fleurs full members. It meets once a year and has full powers for:

approving Union Fleurs accounts and budget,
approving membership & determining membership subscriptions,
electing the Board of Directors,
appointing Committees & working groups and assigning them with activities,
revising the Union Fleurs Articles of Association,
guiding the general direction of Union Fleurs activities and priorities.

The Board of Directors consists of the President, the Vice President, the Secretary General, the Chairmen of the Committees and the Relationship Manager.

Directors are elected by the General Assembly for a term of two years, except for the Secretary General who is elected for a term of three years. The Board of Director has full competencies in terms of management and administration, subject to the powers of the General Assembly.

The day-to-day management of the Union Fleurs office is delegated to the Secretary General.

The Committees are appointed by the General Assembly, which also elects the Chairperson and defines their tasks and responsibilities.

Emerging or specific issues can be tackled through ad hoc working groups established by the General Assembly.