NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya’s floriculture industry is discarding millions of flower stems as surging airfreight costs, driven by Middle East conflict-related disruptions, cripple export capabilities.
Exporters say up to 25 per cent of daily harvests are being wasted, threatening one of the country’s most valuable foreign exchange earners, as they now seek alternative and potential new export markets to reduce reliance on affected routes and stabilize demand.
The surge has been compounded by reduced cargo capacity on key international routes, largely attributed to ongoing geopolitical tensions and disruptions in the Middle East, which have forced airlines to reroute flights and prioritise other freight corridors.
Combined effect of higher shipping costs and limited cargo space has significantly undermined the competitiveness of Kenyan flowers in major export markets, particularly in Europe. As a result, export volumes have declined as logistics bottlenecks intensify.
The crisis has also led to direct post-harvest losses on farms and in packing houses, where millions of unsold flower stems are being disposed of through composting due to missed export windows.
Given the highly perishable nature of cut flowers, even short delays in transportation render large consignments unsellable.
Industry stakeholders warn that the situation is placing thousands of jobs at risk across the value chain, including farm workers, packhouse staff, logistics handlers, and exporters.
