Did you know the flowers you bought on local market for valentines day or the flowers you recieved are a global reject in the flower export business? Yes Kenya’s flower growers export the very best quality to the European Union and the United States Market leaving those that had already fully blossomed to the local market.
Kenya is now a lead exporter of cut flowers to the European Union with a market share of about 21 percent, says African Development Bank (AfDB) annual report for 2021 that was released recently reveals. The report recognizes the country’s flower industry as one of the largest in the world and is a key foreign exchange earner.
Kenya is one of the four countries in the flower export market that has the best conditions to grow flowers and many florists and flower wholesalers around the world are preferring these flowers in Kenya. Holland is mainly a re-exporter of flowers though they also have local flowers but maybe in the coming future considering the intense marketing and huge investments in the industry. Kenya may surpass Holland as the flower hub.
The Netherland has dominated the flower industry for many years, even though its share in the export industry of cut flowers has fallen, from 58% to 52%. This is due to the fact that the Netherlands grows a lot of flowers while also being one of the largest importers of flowers as well. Hence, despite the fall in its share, the Netherlands still exports more than half of all the cut flowers globally, allowing it to easily top the list of 10 countries that export the most cut flowers in the world.
Kenya as a flower hub and leader in the flower market has grown rapidly in the past few years. With low cost and perfect climate the Kenyan flower business is already a 1/2 billion dollar market. They are sending 60% of their flowers to Holland for exchange and 40%to other countries. Will they surpass Holland production in the near future?
Kenya remains to be the fourth largest global player on the wholesale fresh cut flower export market, after the Netherlands, Colombia, and Ecuador. Holland is mainly a re-exporter of flowers though they also have local flowers but may be in the coming future considering the intense marketing and huge investments in the industry in Kenya; This country may surpass Holland as the flower hub.
Statistics show that Kenya is contributing over 7 percent of the world flower trade and continues to compete with countries such as Ecuador and Colombia in the world flower business. In Africa, Kenya is the leading flower grower and exporter, beating other producers such as Ethiopia and Tanzania.
Kenya has been an attractive flower producer because of her favorable growing conditions, cheap skilled labour and rising demand for competitively priced flowers in the main destination markets. I assume that’s public knowledge.
Kenya’s cut-flower industry has performed well in terms of employment, attracting investment, and adoption of efficient production methods, and that the bulk of cut flower processing is done in Kenya and the industry now employs close to half a million people. The report notably mentions that smallholder farmers in the flower industry tend to profit more than those in the tea and coffee sectors.
‘Kenya has invested heavily in greenhouses, machinery, irrigation systems, and in cold storage facilities, this vertically-integrated value chain has allowed quick adjustment to market conditions and the rapid response to changing consumer preferences and international competition,’ it notes.
No wonder Kenya is in the top 5 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of flower bouquet. #4 to be precise as shown below.
- Netherlands: US$4.7 billion (48.1% of total flower bouquet exports)
- Colombia: $1.4 billion (14.1%)
- Ecuador: $798.4 million (8.2%)
- Kenya: $698.5 million (7.2%)
- Ethiopia: $610.4 million (6.3%
Global sales for flower bouquet exports from all countries totaled US$8.4 billion in 2021. Overall, the value of flower bouquet exports increased by an average 2.6% for all exporting countries since 2016 when flower bouquet shipments were valued at $8.2 billion. Year over year, the value of globally exported flower bouquets fell by -6.6% from 2019 to 2020.
Among continents, European countries sold the highest dollar value worth of exported cut flowers during 2021 with shipments amounting to $4.8 billion or 56.9% of the worldwide total. Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean represent 25% worth, trailed by African exporters at 10.9%. Smaller percentages came from sources in Asia (5.9%), North America (1.2%) and Oceania (0.1%) led by New Zealand and Australia.
Conclusion:
As you are thinking on venturing into agribusiness, give the flowers industry a chance. Not all flower types growing is capital intensive
By Frank Kiwanuka
