Clement Tulezi, CEO of Kenya Flower Council (KFC) said that overseas sales of flowers are expected to remain steady despite the loss of the Russia and Ukraine flower markets.
"The loss of flower exports in the first half of this year is expected to be compensated by gains in volumes from other markets such as Australia and Japan," Tulezi told Xinhua on the phone in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.
According to KFC, Kenya earned about 110 billion shillings (916 million U.S. dollars) in 2021 from flower exports, making the fresh produce among the top foreign exchange earners alongside tea, diaspora remittances and tourism. European Union and the United Kingdom accounted for about 70 percent of all flower exports.
The industry lobby noted that Kenya has also identified new markets such as Malaysia, Ghana and Nigeria.
He observed that in order to improve the profitability of the flower sector, the industry will make a gradual transition to export flowers via sea and reduce reliance on air freight.
"Exports through sea freight are also more environmentally friendly because they cause less greenhouse gas emissions," Tulezi added.
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