The rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations in developed countries has given hope to Kenya's flower sector as the peak season approaches, the east African nation's flower exporters said in a survey. The survey by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) released Tuesday said export orders of Kenyan flowers remain strong despite the uncertainty caused by the second wave of COVID-19, discovery of new variants of the virus and possibility of consequent lockdowns in key export markets. "The ongoing rollout of COVID-19 vaccination especially in the developed countries continues to give hope to the sector," said the survey. The average expected orders for the next four months are about 97 percent of the normal (pre-COVID-19) levels, according to the survey.
The flower peak season starts with Valentine's Day in February, followed by Women's Day and Mother's Day. Currently, the production of flowers on Kenyan farms has hit 90 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels as countries in the export market reopen their economies, the survey showed. In 2020, besides the COVID-19 pandemic effects on the market, production also dropped due to unfavorable weather conditions that included hailstones and infestation of pests. "But following the re-opening of the economies, production has improved on account of increased cargo space after resumption of flights to key export markets," said the CBK.
The current good weather has supported production of flowers especially those under the open space system, according to the survey. "Exports have recovered to 95 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels, from 53 percent in April 2020 following low demand due to lockdowns in Europe, and unavailability of cargo space and high cargo space costs," said the bank.