Featured Past Articles
• National carrier may fly flowers through Miami, L.A. or NYC
• New air-services deal would open way for export push
Ethiopia’s burgeoning flower-growing industry is setting its sights on the U.S. in a bid to break the dominance of Latin American producers in supplying roses and other blooms to the world’s largest economy.
State-owned Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise is evaluating freighter flights through Miami -- the main entry point for U.S. flower imports -- Los Angeles or New York, regional manager Girum Abebe said in an interview. The company currently transports stems there only in the bellies of passenger jets.
Ethiopia has become a major force in global floriculture in the past two decades, exploiting a tropical high-altitude climate that provides yearround natural light combined with hot days and cold nights perfect for bringing plants into bloom. The conditions mirror those found in the Andes, where growers in Ecuador and Colombia currently dominate flower exports to the U.S.
“Ten or 15 years ago Ethiopia was not exporting a single rose, but now we have earned our position in the world market,” Girum said. “North America has been the major importer of horticulture products from other parts of the world, so we want to have part of that.”
Ethiopian flower exports are currently focused on Europe, and have made the country Africa’s secondbiggest producer after Kenya and fourth-equal worldwide, according to Rabobank research. About 80 percent of Ethiopian production is flown to the Netherlands, the center of the global flower trade, and re-exported from there. ‘Bigger Blooms’ '
Read more: African Roses Are U.S.-Bound as Ethiopian Growers go Global
What is your personal back ground?
I have a degree in Bachelors of Science with Majors in Zoology and thereby entomology is what has landed me in the industry.
Why did you choose to be an agronomist?
I didn’t choose to be an agronomist, my former boss, Nikolai saw the potential in me first and send me to the field to go and do trials with a product I had pioneered for the market in his company. When I did the trials and the product worked, I was thereby told to go and market the product. Being in the field and controlling pests became interesting and I am loving every bit of it that is offering solutions to farmers.
How long have you been working with farmers?
This is my eighth year working with farmers both in flowers, cereals, vegetables and fruits.
Read more: Winrose Joyce Maria Professional Credibility and Reputation a Necessity
Africa 2018 Focusses on Benchmarking Cold Chain Logistics and Technology
The third edition of Flower Logistics Africa had a full house representing a crosssection of the entire value chain of flower trade. Revolved around the core theme of “Cold Chain Protocols and Common Standard: Keys to Africa’s Flower Industry” the event was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Nairobi and attracted participation from Africa and outside.
The participants of the day-long conference deliberated on the typical challenges faced by the flower industry as a whole. The discussions revolved around the need for standardisation that will enhance exports and gain traction for Kenya’s flower industry in the global market.
The changing paradigms like the entry of e-commerce players are expected to drive the flower markets in the coming years. The flower trade players may have to look towards a ‘Look East’ policy as demand from China will increase in the coming years.
Peter Musola, the cargo commercial manager for Kenya Airways, who was part of a panel discussion, emphasised on KQ’s commitment to providing fresh networking opportunities. “Kenya Airways Cargo is expanding our cool chain facility to deal with the over demand during peak seasons. We are also expanding our warehouse infrastructure to accommodate demand,” he said. In regards to KQ launching direct flights from Nairobi to New York, Musola added, “We are looking into partnerships with the John F. Kennedy Airport with our recently launched flights to NewYork to enable access for our flowers to Miami, Toronto and Vancouver.
While discussing about setting cold chain protocols and common standards for African flower export, Evans Michoma, manager, cargo Kenya Airports Authority, mentioned, “Plans are underway to launch a cargo service quality surveys for all exporters & importers. This tool will ensure cool chains standards are maintained both at the receiving & loading phases. These results will be publicized for all suppliers for actions.”
Efficiency and sustainability in the floral logistics supply chain took centre stage of discussions as participants sought to identify new opportunities that will allow African exporters to compete in global markets. Clement Tulezi, the CEO of Kenya Flower Council emphasized, “We are looking more into improving our market access by working closely with other key partners as we aim to remain the main voice for the Kenya flower industry.”
Kenya is the leading exporter out of Africa with over 16, 000 tonnes perishables per month. Saudia Cargo, according to Ken Mbogo, the Regional Director in Africa, handles approximately 25 percent of those goods. This is the leading cargo serving the African floricultural operations in Kenya. While discussing about how data can improve transport and logistics for Africa, Mbogo mentioned that the airline is taking advantage of their online customer surveys to get insights that influence change in their day-to-day operations.
The event which was organised by Logistics Update Africa, was sponsored by, Kenya Airways Cargo, Holland Flower Alliance, Saudia Cargo and many more.The conference was also supported by industry associations such as Kenya Flower Council (KFC), Cool Chain Association (CCA), Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (KIFWA), and The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH).
Panalpina has doubled its cold storage space at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, with the aim of growing the perishable volumes flown out of Kenya. The facility has been expanded by 1,500 m2 and offers Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s only dedicated loading bays for skidded or palletised cargo and with separate cold rooms to manage specific temperature requirements. Panalpina aims to grow its business in Kenya from the current 65,000 tons of flowers, fruits, and vegetables it moves, to more than 80,000 by 2020.
“This facility will provide many business opportunities for our customers to pursue in [Kenya], the region and the world, and that is what we are looking to achieve – solutions that foster growth for our customers, Panalpina and the communities where we operate,” said Stefan Karlen, president and chief executive of Panalpina.
The company has been expanding its presence in the perishables market over the last few years, with the sector seen as useful for providing regular and consistent back-haul traffic. Panalpina first started operations in Nairobi in 2015 with a team of five people, which soon grew to 200 with the acquisition of Airflo, and later to 350 with that of Air Connection.
Read more: Panalpina Targets Growth in Kenya – Expanding Cold Storage at Nairobi Airport
Unless the two bickering parties in this messy divorce reach an agreement bringing about some less disruptive arrangement, goods travelling across the channel are likely to confront customs
Summary
- The European Union has a trade agreement with Kenya that enables imports of flowers free of tariffs.
- After Brexit, Britain will have to negotiate its own arrangement with Kenya and other exporters.
- Until a deal is struck, flowers sent from Kenya to Britain would stand to incur tariffs of nearly 7 percent, a potential shock for an industry that has become a major source of jobs in the East African nation. checks and sanitary inspections.
Far removed from the political posturing and brinkmanship that capture most of the attention in Britain’s long and tedious departure from the European Union, Yme Pasma is deeply enmeshed in the mother of all logistical problems.
He is the chief operating officer of Royal FloraHolland, a marketplace where some 12 billion flowers and plants are sold a year — more than one-third of the worldwide trade in such blooms. Inside hulking warehouses near Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport in the town of Aalsmeer, Royal FloraHolland operates a flower auction and a distribution centre.
A fleet of computer-guided forklifts whisks buckets of roses, boxes of amaryllis and other foliage — some grown in Holland, some flown in from Africa, Asia and Latin America — toward loading docks, to be placed on trucks and shipped to customers worldwide.
The scent of flowers is pervasive, a weirdly anomalous whiff of perfume amid the clatter of machinery.
Nearly $1 billion worth of this product a year is destined for the United Kingdom, a realm that today is still part of the European Union. Flowers arriving from outside Europe can clear customs and then proceed unhindered to Britain.
Read more: Disruptive Brexit May Create Traffic Jams in Flower Trade
Summary
- The decision by KQ to dedicate the New York route to passengers, with only five tonnes allocated to cargo, means Kenya’s flower industry cannot penetrate the US market.
- There is also the issue of the return flight flying back empty because Kenya’s main imports from the US are bulk machinery, cereals and aircraft that are shipped here.
- The emergence of new cut flower producers, particularly Ethiopia, is causing jitters that Kenya’s dominance is diminishing, albeit slowly.
In spite of optimism and excitement after national carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) started direct flights to the US in October, the airline’s business strategy of focusing on passengers as opposed to cargo has dashed the hopes of the flower industry of targeting the market that has remained elusive.
This is bad news for the industry which despite being the second leading foreign exchange earner after tea, is grappling with a myriad of challenges that are threatening the country’s position as Africa’s leading producer of cut flowers.
The sector is currently dealing with challenges ranging from a fertiliser importation crisis, increase in input taxes, delays in tax refunds, stringent phytosanitary requirements in the European Union (EU) market, new demands on fumigation by key market Australia to intensifying competition from emerging flower producers like Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.
In the midst of these predicaments, the decision by KQ to dedicate the new route specifically to passengers, with only five tonnes allocated to cargo, means the flower industry cannot count on the national carrier to penetrate the US market.
How two Exhibitions Running Concurrently Are Changing Today’s Market
IFTF 2018
From November 7-9, the IFTF took place in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands. Nearly 300 companies showcased their varieties and services, attracting visitors from all over the world. Every year, the cut flower show is becoming bigger and the number of visitors is increasing. Also this year, the visitor number was about 15% higher compared to last year. And for next year further international growth is expected as a new pavilion will be added: Argentina.
Neat booths
When entering the show, one of the first things - next to the increased exhibition area - that strikes the attention are the neat stands. It seems that many exhibitors took their time and effort to pay attention to the little details and have put up a professional neat-looking stand.
