The ongoing war between Iran and the United States and Israel is keeping many aircraft in the Middle East grounded. It also makes it impossible to fly to all countries in the region, throwing into disarray the regional flower trade. This also affects Dutch exporters and African growers who sell their products in the Middle East. ‘We are 100% dependent on the region. We are certainly feeling the impact.’
‘Coincidentally, we can transport 7 tonnes of flowers by plane to the Middle East tomorrow,’ says Robert Quak of SQ Flora. ‘Fingers crossed,’ he adds, because it remains to be seen whether the plane will actually be able to fly there. Quak describes exports to the region affected by the war in Iran as difficult. Some airports are partially open, and alternative trade routes are being explored here and there.
‘We find that food is taking precedence, but for flowers things are very difficult. It's all very unpredictable. Some flights are operating, but the fares are very high and capacity is very scarce. It takes just the slightest occurrence for a flight to get cancelled, forcing growers to take their flowers back,’ says Quak, describing the uncertain situation. Last weekend saw such a large-scale repatriation of flowers.
