Kenya’s flower industry has recorded an eight per cent leap in global market share for the period up to September - despite recent negative publicity surrounding poor working conditions.
Global flower sale results released last week saw Kenya widening the gap between it and the closest suppliers in volume - Columbia and Ecuador - whose market share is tied at 25 per cent, far behind Kenya’s 40 per cent.
Kenya Flower Council (KFC) chairman Erastus Mureithi said the “Kenya agenda” launched at trade event Hortifair in the Netherlands last week would be pushed as a major promotion campaign to dispel negative publicity about the industry.
The campaign will be undertaken by the newly formed Kenya Horticulture Council, which was the result of a merger between KFC and the Fresh Produce Exporters’ Association of Kenya (FPEAK).
The surge in Kenya’s market share from 32 per cent earlier in the year is attributed to a shortage of flowers that hit the country over the last two months owing to abnormally cold weather, which in turn caused a serious shortage in Europe. Due to the shortage, flower prices have soared.
