Can you please give us a brief about your company?

Ornamental Valencia Export, S.L. is an Export Consortium created by eight leading nurseries and one coco peat manufacturer located in Valencia, Spain, exclusively dedicated to exporting ornamental plants and coco peat products to the Middle East, Asia, and the Mediterranean region.

When did you start your operation in the region?

Ornamental Valencia Export as a company is only six months old, but the partner companies started exporting to the region two years ago, mainly to Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE.

What are the services offered in the region?

We have adapted our production mechanisms and distribution systems to the new market orientations in order to meet any demand at any time and with any product in the quantities our clients determine, following the highest professional standards in logistics service.

We provide landscape plant materials to nurseries and international projects. Our expertise covers all aspects of supply, including species recommendation, selection of best quality plant materials, logistics and transportation, door-to-door delivery and on-site support.

We offer an exclusive Contract Growing Methodology, in which we produce the best quality plants grown to our clients’ specifications at very competitive prices, complying with the strictest phytosanitary protocols and even using 100% soil-less media if required.

How do you perceive the landscape market in the Middle East in terms of potential and competition?

Even though currently there are many projects planned for the Middle East we still sense there is no correlation between the investments made for building in comparison with that destined for landscaping. The worldwide market is demanding more and better plants, but what happens to an important percentage of the projects planned in the Middle East is that the first thing they reduce, to cut costs, is the size, quantity and quality of plants, which makes no sense at all. The greener a project is, the easier it is to sell. More than the competition, our biggest obstacle is the lack of awareness of this fact.

What types of plants are you producing in the nursery?

Through our partner companies, Ornamental Valencia Export, S.L. produces a total of eight million plants in an extension of 1600 hectares in different locations of the Valencia Community and in Extremadura, Spain, Argentina and the Dominican Republic.

Thanks to the extensive experience of our partner companies we are able to offer a wide range of quality plants: palm trees, trees, shrubs, groundcovers, climbers/vines and succulents of all sizes, from seedlings to specimen plants for export and service a wide variety of climates and environments.

What types of plants are imported?

One of our partner companies has a 1000 hectare farm in Argentina where there are mainly Butia Capitata Palms, Chorisia Speciosa and Tabebuia Rosea trees, all in specimen sizes. Another one of the partner companies has a farm in the Dominican Republic where they produce palm trees and Cocoloba Uvifera in different varieties (sea grape).

Also, through our Strategic Partnerships with a network of international nurseries we supply plants from many different parts of the world directly to our clients from countries like Japan, Argentina, Costa Rica, USA, Mexico, South Africa, and Australia.

Do you feel the Landscape Professionals in the Middle East are aware of the products you promote?

This is both our biggest handicap and our main goal. A big percentage of the plants we produce have a better chance of surviving and adapting to the difficult environment and lack of water of the Middle East than the tropical plants we keep seeing listed in the blue prints of landscape consulting firms. There are many places in Spain where you can fry an egg with no fire during the summer. Spain is a hot country and our plants are very well adapted to harsh conditions.

Also, the coco products we manufacture in our own factories in India have a superb quality and consistency that is difficult to find in this Industry, which has normally been associated to high salt content, poor yield per liter, and contamination of the coco products. We are our own main clients and we demand the best for our plants, so we only sell the best quality products to our clients around the world.

What are your company’s future plans and activities for the UAE and the wider region?

We will be exhibiting at the main trade shows throughout the region to promote our products and meet new clients, as well as keep consolidating our relationships with all our existing customers by always giving innovative solutions to all their landscaping needs.

Any additional thoughts? Is there anything special in the relationship between a Spanish company and a Middle Eastern one?

As Spaniards, our strong Arabic heritage makes us feel quite close to the cultures of the Middle East, and when our customers visit us, they feel at home.

The gardens of al-Andalus were the result of great cultural wealth and high levels of technical and scientific know-how, not only regarding cultivation but also - and especially - water management,

biological pest and disease control and the balanced use of soil and natural fertilizers. Today this management method would be called organic. So, this type of garden also fits in perfectly with today’s commitment to the correct use and conservation of biodiversity and the sustainability criteria that characterise the modern paradigm for relations between human beings and natural resources.