Cut Flowers: Dutch Middlemen rob Kenya of flower identity in US- by George Omondi
While Kenya’s organically grown flowers are among the best quality demand by US consumers, they are usually categorized as European goods.Over 70 per cent of Kenya’s cutflower gets to key markets through the large scale Dutch auctions, a trend that industry players say may take a while to reverse as direct sales to market is expensive and involves a lot of logistical work. Large scale buyers like world’s leading supermarket chains which obtain their stock at the Amsterdam auction also prefer to package and brand the flowers under their own names, totally cutting off their Kenyan connection.
Mrs Jane Ngige, the Kenya Flower Council CEO, says most Kenyan flower growers have limited knowledge of the American market and rely on the infrastructure and market links of the established flower auctions to reach consumers in Europe and US. But she also acknowledges that many farms are now getting direct online orders from US buyers.
No comments:
Post a Comment