Flowers are an essential component of human happiness. They please our visual and olfactory senses. They connect us, decorate us and our surroundings. None of us could fall in love or marry without flowers being a part of that journey.
The global cut flower industry is worth $18 billion
and growing rapidly. The five bestselling varieties are rose, carnation,
lilium, chrysanthemum and gerbera. In the UK and USA, flowers are bought in supermarkets,
in the EU from florists. India sells fresh flowers and garlands on the streets and
local markets.
The flowers you buy in London’s Covent garden could
have come from the Netherlands, but they possibly grew in Kenya. Kenya, Ethiopia,
Ecuador and Columbia are the world’s biggest growers and exporters. This has a fifty-year-old
history. In the 1970s, the oil crisis prohibitively increased the cost of heating
greenhouses. It made sense to move the flower production to sunny countries in
the south. Kenya and Ethiopia became the supply centres for Europe, Ecuador and
Columbia for the USA. The four countries had high altitudes with cool nights,
ideal for flowers. They also had maximum sunlight and cheap labour. Instead of
the seasonal production earlier, now it is 365 days a year. Every third rose in
the European Union is imported from Kenya.
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When we talk of Tulip gardens, we think of the Netherlands.
Netherlands runs a global auction trade for flowers. In an incredibly efficient
operation, the Royal Flora Holland, the auction company, sells 20
million stems every day. This is the Wall Street of flowers. It trades in 22,000
different varieties.
In the beginning of March this year, tulip growers put
their wares up for sale. Tulip season usually lasts for eight weeks. International
women’s day 2020 escaped the coronavirus. However, on Friday 13 March, the
Dutch auction collapsed. When the prices for roses and tulips hit zero, the
auction house stopped trading. Weddings, parties, events, cruises were cancelled.
For the perishable commodity that flowers are, its
supply is based on cold chain logistics (the term often heard for vaccines
now). At a constant temperature, the flowers from a Kenyan farm must reach the
London supermarket in 48 hours. The vase life is just 12-15 days at best.
Flowers lose 15% value every day.
Demand for Kenyan flowers is so high, Nairobi’s Jomo
Kenyatta International airport has a dedicated flower terminal. Suddenly in the
second week of March, the airport shut its doors. Flowers are Kenya’s second
biggest export after tea. The Kenyan flower trade has grown ten times in the
last thirty years. By May, 50,000 Kenyans lost their jobs. Livelihood of two
million Kenyans was indirectly affected. It was called a humanitarian crisis. All
roses and other flowers had to be composted.
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In the Netherlands, coronavirus crushed 400 million flowers
including 140 million Dutch Tulips. Tulip growing is a long process. In July
2019, the farmers had dug up the bulbs, given them the right treatment and planted
them in October 2019. Later they were moved to the greenhouse. The quality of tulips
this year was excellent. March to May is the high season, with Easter holidays
and Mother’s Day. The Dutch tulip industry sells an average of $30 million
flowers daily. This year they had to destroy all tulips.
Keukenhof, the largest flower park in Netherlands,
usually welcomes 1.5 million visitors during the tulip season. The park had to
be shut throughout.
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Since May, things have improved a little. The Kenyan
flower council fought for starting the flights again. The Dutch auction has
reopened but still shut for visitors. In some places, business has recovered
about 70%, but in value terms still down in the absence of lavish weddings,
parties and other events. All flower traders are worried about the impact of
the latest wave.
As to how the Kenyan flower growers survived, I will
write tomorrow.
Ravi