Kenyan flower trade to Europe by sea will bloom for FloraHolland, but if rates rise...

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FloraHolland’s ongoing mission to convert some East African air freight volumes to ocean freight could be under threat if carrier attempts to significantly increase container rates is successful.

Speaking at the recent TOC Container Supply Chain event in Rotterdam, Christo van der Meer, senior supply chain consultant at FloraHolland, said the current price differential between air shipments out of Kenya via Nairobi airport and reefer container volumes that were trucked to Mombasa and loaded on container vessels was almost half.

“Shipping flowers ...