The World Bank, in cooperation with the Kenya Flower Council (KFC), organised a series of video conference-based seminars on topics pertaining to competitiveness in the floriculture industry. The 5th seminar, held on the 29th of November 2011, covered the issue of global competitiveness of floriculture production in the East Africa Region. Representatives from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda participated in the videoconference.
ProVerde was asked to prepare an issue paper on the competitiveness of the Kenyan flower industry and by extension the East African producer’s compared to other global producers and exporters. The paper provided an important contextual and experiential learning point for the other countries involved in the videoconference. Results from the study were presented and discussed during the conference.
The paper provided insight into:
– The developments in the global flower industry over the last 10 to 15 years, targeting the EU market. Highlighting experiences and lessons learnt from leading exporting countries.
– A bird’s eye view of the policy and policy guidelines that are operational in the major flower growing countries was given.
– Driving forces for horticultural development were identified. Incentives which really promoted the development of industries in the leading exporting countries are brought to light.
– Existing SWOT analyses of the Kenyan flower industry were reviewed, taking into account results of the preceding videoconferences and lessons learnt in other leading countries.
– Finally, the paper provided recommendations to strengthen the position of the Kenya flower industry for further growth in the next 10 years.
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