This year should have marked a major breakthrough for the sea freighting of Kenyan flowers, but this did not materialise. Instead, ocean transport from Kenya to Europe has reached a virtual standstill, with Houthi rebels still keeping shipowners from risking to send ships through the Red Sea. However, this has not changed the overall conviction that the sea freighting of flowers is going to be big.
For years, several parties have been saying positive things about the future of sea freighting flowers. The Kenya Flower Council is one of them. Its director, Clement Tulezi, revealed at IFTF last year that, by 2030, 50% of flowers transported from Kenya to Europe would go by boat. While other parties, such as shipowner Maersk and freight forwarder Kuehne+Nagel, made more cautious predictions, they too were optimistic about the future position of sea freighting. Sales and Development Manager Reefer Logistics Christo van der Meer of forwarder Kuehne+Nagel, for instance, predicted that, by 2030, 30% of flowers from Kenya destined for Europe would go overseas. For 3.5 years, the company has been engaged in ocean transport alongside air freighting.
