As Britain prepares to leave the European Union, workers in Kenya’s flower industry are closely monitoring developments.Flowers are big business in Kenya and earnings from exports have doubled in the past five years.
A key export destination is the UK, which most of the flowers enter after being auctioned in the Netherlands.Growers and exporters in Kenya are asking the same question – what impact will Brexit have on the flower trade?
Kenyan flower exporters currently enjoy zero tariffs on cut flowers sold to the EU.
This is set by an interim arrangement, which Kenya secured through signing and ratifying the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the East African Community.
The deal is temporary until the three other members in the regional group sign up so it can come into full effect.Other major Kenyan exports such as tea, fruit and vegetables enjoy the same terms.
Britain is the second largest export destination for Kenya’s cut flowers after the Netherlands, taking almost 18% of the flowers produced in the country.The industry accounts for about 1.06% to Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP) – the total value of all the goods and services produced – according to the Flower Council.
It is also one of the largest employers in the country, providing jobs to more than 100,000 people directly and an estimated two million indirectly.And although Britain remains a major trading partner for Kenya, overall trade between the two countries has been falling over the past few years.
Kenya Flower Council chief executive Clement Tulezi said the infrastructure for handling flowers flown directly to the UK was not well developed, which left Amsterdam and Liege, in Belgium, as the most important entry points for flowers into Europe,
So, Kenyan flower-sellers are hoping the UK signs a deal with the EU before officially leaving on 29 March.The deal proposed by the UK government would trigger a transition period that extends until 2020.
And during the transition period, Kenya would continue accessing the UK market as it does now while a future trade deal was negotiated.