JAN - FEB 2018 LUA 19
K
enya continues to be the leading
exporter of flowers from the
African region. As per the official
data, the country exports over
200,000 tonnes of flowers per annum to
60 international destinations. Though the
growth rate is stagnant for last couple of
years, the Kenya Flower Council (KFC)
sees the segment currently growing at
2 percent, and expects to improve here
onwards.
During the second edition of Flower
Logistics Africa 2017, themed “Enhancing
Africa’s flower power through better
logistics,” the stakeholders deliberated on
various subjects ranging from the steps to
enhance trade; industry standardisation;
challenges in packaging; and role of
technology in cool chain management,
transport and supply chain.
Standards mean
investing more on
coaching the workers
at the farms and the
processing process.
We need to borrow
from our partners
by incorporating
innovation in our
processes.
jEROEn VAn dER hUlSt
FlOWERWAtCh
The event in Nairobi on the November
22 nd attracted participation from Africa
and outside. During the conference,
the industry in single tone called for
standardisation in flower logistic on high
priority.
The speakers on the panels elaborated
on how the members of the trade value
chain should look at a collaborative
approach that would be the way
forward for the flower industry. Sharing
information and data with each other is
crucial in this process.
Liege Airport’s cargo sales manager,
Eric Gysen highlighted that the Liege
airport on an experimental basis started
sharing data with the flower value chain
operators.
“We are taking a risk by sharing
information on an experimental basis for
improving efficiency among stakeholders.
Find and build relationships to earn
each other’s trust then work on trust
mechanisms that will better processes,”
said WicoSantbutle, director, Cargo
Development, KLM Cargo.
Jane Ngige, chief executive officer of
Kenya Flower Council (KFC) emphasised
the need for a single standard for the
flower industry. “Now growers follow
different standards that are set over the
period, the supply chain industry follows
a different code, airlines follow IATA
standards. So what we are looking at is to
L to R: Parit Shah of Silpack, Jeroen van der Hulst of FlowerWatch, Eliud Njenga of Credible
Blooms and Pigeon Blooms, Eddy Verbeek of Florensis, Mark de Blois of Upande
