Q : For export, Flowers must be packed. Kindly discuss the importance of quality cartons in packaging of flowers?
A: The quality of a carton is important as it determines the state in which the produce will reach the market. A good quality box should be able to withstand the harsh conditions in the supply (cool) chain. The primary purpose of a carton is to protect, preserve and ship the produce to the market in top quality sustainably- in as near perfect condition as possible-allowing for good returns.

It is pointless to put so much effort in getting a quality produce from the farm only for it to arrive in bad state in the target market due to poor quality packaging fetching low returns and being subject of claims etc.

Q: For a layman, a carton is a carton; briefly discuss factors to consider when choosing the best carton for flowers?
A: A box is a box to a layman however you could have two boxes constructed of the same quality material (paper from same sources) but the resulting box could be very different in terms of capability- or ability to perform in the hostile conditions that it is subjected to.

A good quality carton depends on quality of paper used and the integrity of the process and processing equipment.

Influencing factors in choice of box are;

1. Type of flowers grown and sensitivity
2. Pack rates
3. Cost
4. Logistics- mode of transport, pallets in use in the supply chain.
5. Volume to cost ratio considerations-
6. Weight of box.
7. Target Market and also the preference in the growing region
8. The nature of the growers’ cool chain and handling
9. Choice of supplier- a supplier who sustains consistent quality of boxes batchto- batch, reliability of supplies.

Q: Flowers are of different sizes, varieties and types each with it’s unique characteristics, do you use the same cartons for the different stem sizes, head sizes, varieties and types e.g roses, lisianthus etc?
A: Cartons come in different sizes and styles. This largely depends on grower preferences but there are special rules for special flowers. For example roses, etc will be packed in either standard, Zim Box, Special Zim, Jumbo box whereas Lisianthus will be packed in an upright whose height will depend on the stem size. Chrysanthemums for this region are packed in smaller sized boxes

Q: What is the universal carton size(s), if not classified you can give the different carton sizes available?
A: In this region, Eastern Africa, the most common flower boxes are the Standard flower box whose size is 978 x 299 x 196mm and Zim Box whose size is 980 x 438 x 199mm. These are two pieceproducts that is bottom and top (that are Full Depth Telescopic). There are other variants in the FDT boxes such as the Special Zim whose size is 982 x 375 x 209mm, Jumbo box which can take various sizes depending on the grower.

In addition to this we have the coffin (Popular in Israel but also used here by a few), an R.S.C style , box whose size is 1000 x 512 x 388mm and uses heavy duty paper ideal for heavy haulage- there’s a variant to this which uses a slightly lower grammage paper.

We also have some other small boxes like for chrysanthemums and one size is 530 x 345 x 100mm.

Q: How many stems or bouquets should be packed in a carton?
A: This is dependent on various factors. These are; size of stems, heads, variety, grower, their overseas customer requirements, type of box etc. The packing should be such there’s no bulging or over packing so as to facilitate good stack formation and ease of handling. Q: Kindly discuss the handling of the product during packaging to maintain the quality. A It is important to understand that boxes are paper products and although paper for making boxes is specialized, prolonged contact with moisture/water contribute to deterioration in strength. This calls for extra care in handling.

To ensure flower arrive their destination in top quality, handling of the boxes throughout the cool chain is important. It largely depends on how the cooling/precooling process of the grower is structuredthe longer the box is subjected to the cool chain the faster it deteriorates how the boxes are stacked in the cold rooms, during transportation; the process of handling during loading, unloading and building of pallets, storage of boxes. Have the packers been trained on good handling practices, do the packers know how to identify faulty boxes and avoiding to use them? These are all important.

Q: What advice do you give to enable the product maintain it’s quality during transport both road and air?
A: Adhere to good handling, stacking and packing on trucks utilizing the edge of the boxes where the strength of the box is. At the freight handlers it is important to adhere to good practice and also simple mechanization to enable easy movement of large pallets without having to use a lot of force on boxes. Use of refrigerated trucks should be well structured.

Q: What problems if any are you having with growers in handling of your products which they turn to blame on you?
A: When there are issues of boxes collapsing, the box maker gets all the criticism, what the growers need to understand is that things could go wrong anywhere in the chain. It could be as a result of; 1. Poor quality box- Supplier issue 2. The structure of the growers pre-cooling process 3. Growers packing process and the environment in which it is done. 4. Structure of the road transportation and packing in the refrigerated lorry 5. Handling and palleting at the freighters 6. Conditions under which the produce were being handled during loading, unloading etc

Q: Are there any specific materials which should be used to manufacture flower cartons for your customers?
A The ideal situation would be to have wet strength paper, semi chemical fluting paper as the components to manufacture flower boxes with. These would allow for use of lighter boxes. However these are expensive and normal kraft paper and waste based fluting are the norm. The kraft paper/fluting has to meet certain stringent strength and water absorption criteria without which there is likely hood of issues during use. There are other methods/processes available to impart water resistant properties to paper and starch which is used as adhesive. These are through use of water resistant coatings on paper and water resistant resins in glue formulation.

Q: What are the qualities of a good carton supplier?
A: Consistent quality products batch-tobatch, excellent customer service that includes training sessions with Packhouse team on box handling and reliability in supplies.

Q: Kindly give your final comments?
A: Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort and skilful execution. The grower, packaging supplier and freighter should work closely together in ensuring that the produce reaches market in the best possible quality.

A number of Suppliers in Kenya already do this by engaging growers Packhouse teams on box handling and has studied different cool chains for different growers and understands which of these work well considering the type of boxes made in this market.