A payload crisis at Nairobi ’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is putting line on Kenya ’s flower and clean green groceries exports to Europe . Several international carriers – include Qatar Airways , Turkish Airlines , and Magma Aviation – have reportedly scaled back their lading services to Kenya in favor of more lucrative routes for the festal time of year . For instance , cargo airlines are earning up to $ 8 per kg on routes from Asia to the US , compared with only $ 2.5-$2.8 per kg in Kenya .
This month , Airflo , a payload forwarder of perishable good between Kenya and the Netherlands , advised its Kenyan clients to reduce deliveries due to circumscribed airline capacity . This shortage has leave in loading piling up at Nairobi ’s airport , with Airflo estimating that recent escape cancellations and delays have removed 300 tonnes from its plan airfreight electrical capacity . Efforts to arrange charter flights have faced challenge as well , with aircraft in short supplying due to high demand from Asia . Many outside airway operating in Kenya do not have binding contracts , allowing them the flexibility to trim capacity , leaving local exporters vulnerable .
security measures concerns in the Red Sea have exacerbated the state of affairs . onset by Yemen ’s Houthi freedom fighter on container ships passing through the Red Sea have led many shipping companies to reroute around the southerly crest of Africa rather of the Suez Canal , tot up to 10 days to voyages and increasing fuel costs by more or less 40 % . This rerouting has push back more demand for airfreight as companies calculate to expedite deliveries . capacitance constraints are also aggravated by in high spirits cargo demand from Taiwanese e - commerce giants Shein and Temu .
In 2023 , Kenyan horticultural exportation arise by 7 % , reaching KES 156.69bn ( US$ 1.20bn ) , up from KES 147.08 billion ( US$ 1.13bn ) in 2022 . Flowers alone now calculate for 47 % of Kenya ’s horticultural exports , with vegetables and fruits cause up 32 % and 21 % , severally .
The Netherlands was the gravid importer of Kenyan horticultural good ( 27 % ) , play along by the United Kingdom ( 14 % ) , France ( 13 % ) , the United Arab Emirates ( 6 % ) , Germany ( 5.1 % ) , and Monaco ( 4.6 % ) .
To accost the crisis , industriousness experts have suggested that the Kenyan governance issue temporary Trachinotus falcatus for additional freight airlines or weigh soaked leasing – hiring aircraft with crew , fuel , and indemnity on a short - terminal figure ground . There is also interest group in eventually shifting a larger parcel of flower exportation to ocean freight , which offers lower cost and reduced glasshouse gas emissions . This alternative , however , hinges on substantial substructure investments in rail , interface readiness , container depots , and improved customs processes for perishable . According to Rabobank , if constancy returns to the Red Sea , the symmetry of cut roses send to Europe by sea could increase from around 5 % currently to 19 % by 2030 .
As Kenya grapples with freight tape drive challenge , neighboring Ethiopia , Africa ’s secondly - largest flower exporter , is investing to a great extent in its cargo procedure through the state - owned Ethiopian Airlines , gain greater ascendancy and reliableness over its exportation mental ability . The airline has give an in force moth-eaten concatenation system of rules , maintaining optimal temperatures throughout transport to keep the quality of perishable good like flowers . Ethiopia ’s airfreight rate are rough half those charged by freight forwarders in Kenya .
Source : Nanyang Technological University
Frontpage photograph : © Elita Vellekoop | FloralDaily.com
