The overall increase in exports of cut flowers for 2002 was up 21 per cent on 2001. And Mureithi was particularly delighted with the continued work with MPS the Dutch internationally accredited certification body. He said: 'Our silver standard, to which all members must aspire is gaining recognition across Europe as we benchmark our silver standard with MPS GAP.' However, The suspension of British Airways flights to and from Kenya has put pressure on cargo space and therefore exports of cut flowers have been affected, with small growers suffering in particular.
Furthermore the recent television documentary that challenged the treatment of Kenyan workers has seen the industry taking a battering. This has angered the KFC who has been working hard with the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) and Mureithi believes this was a unfair representation. He said: 'The television programme has created panic in the industry. We have been working very to improve the rights of workers in Kenya for some time now and our ongoing work with the ETI has been addressing the situation. Also, we recently took 20 Kenyan journalists around farms to interview workers and we would like to do the same with members of the UK press. I will be working extremely hard to change the image of Kenya and we are looking at working together with African nations such as Uganda and Tanzania.' The KFC and ETI are working together to identify and promote good practice. Pins Browns project manager for the ETI said: 'There have been some great improvements in the labour practices and we are getting people to talk and address issues.' Meanwhile, the KFC were pleased to announce that Homegrown Kenya Limited has been awarded the prestigious KFC gold standard. It is only the second company to have achieved this since KFC's launch in 1996. The KFC is pushing to ensure that all its members attain international standards and have gained credibility locally and internationally.
