Exporters confident despite Netherlands sliding into recession
By Nicholas.Waitathu, August 17, 2023
Kenya horticulture players expressed optimism over the demand of fresh produce in Europe despite Netherlands economic recession announced yesterday.
Kenya Flower Council (KFC) Chief executive Clement Tulezi said the horticulture exports to Europe through Netherlands have not changed apart from the time of Covid-19.
“For example, even though we are in low season, we are still shipping good volumes of cut flowers to the tune of 3,500 tonnes per week. Equally, the market has been strong for the whole of 2022/23 crop year. And currently we haven’t noticed any indications of change of the market due to the announced recession. Demand for our produce is still high,” said Tulezi.
He added that the flower industry recorded impressive business during the celebrations of Valentine day on February 14 and Mat 14, 2023.
However, demand for roses he said is low compared to non-roses at the moment, a situation he attributed to the low season. But he hastened to add that the situation is expected to change upward in the last quarter of this year.
Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya chief executive Okisegere Ojepat said local fresh produce Europe may or may not be affected. The Netherlands is a hub and thus huge volumes of horticulture, especially flowers, are exported through there. We control 44 per cent of the cupflower export to Europe through Netherlands,” said Ojepati in a phone interview.
He added: “The worry to Kenya horticulture industry could be if the individual purchasing power in the Netherlands and other regions in the EU is affected.” Ojepati hosts the largest flower auction in the world -Aalsmeer Flower Auction with Kenya shipping almost half of the total global flowers.
Despite the announced economic slump, Ojepati stated that Netherlands as a small country in Europe has mastered the art of logistics implying it will be innovative in terms of protecting avenues that generate impressive results.