"Kenya: "Good demand and prices this low season"

For many cut rose growers, this time of the year is considered to be the low season. The holy month of Ramadan in the Middle East and the upcoming summer period in Europe often results in a lower demand. However, this year, the demand and therefore also the prices are higher than expected. "They are both about 10 percent higher compared to last year during this time of the year", says Mary N Mwangi of Valentine Growers, a 17ha sized Kenyan rose farm that sells directly to mainly Europe, the Middle East and Russia. According to her, this increase is mainly due to the cold weather in Kenya at the moment.

Mary N Mwangi at the IFTEX in Nairobi.

Cold weather
Kenya currently has to deal with colder weather than usual. "We are on an altitude of 1950 meters and the temperature during day-time at this time of year normally is about 20 degrees Celsius. Now, however, it is about 5 degrees lower; about 12-to 15 degrees Celsius during day-time", says M.Mwangi. And these lower temperatures affect the production. "During this time of the year, the production at many farms drops by 10 percent in general. Now, due to the cold weather, the production decreased by 15-20 percent. And as a consequence, we experience a higher demand and prices", she says.

At the farm of Valentine Growers.

Tough year
According to M.Mwangi, it has been a tough year for many farmers till now. "In March -April many farms were in high production, so there was an oversupply of flowers on the market, which resulted in low prices at the auction. And in May, June many farms had to deal with a lower production and the occurrence of diseases like downy mildew and botrytis, that were caused by heavy rains." But the lower production was also beneficial for some farms as the prices at the auction increased sharply.

At the packinghouse of Valentine Growers.

Expanding markets
M.Mwangi is always looking to expand markets and was therefore also attending the IFTEX last week. "We want to diversify our direct markets more, because in different countries, you have to deal with different seasons. Now, for example, we have Ramadan which drops the demand in the Middle East, and the summer season in Europe in a couple of weeks, but in other countries this is not the case. So, by expanding our markets, we hope to have a more constant demand throughout the year", she says. And to find new markets M. Mwangi is attending exhibitions, the IFTEX for example. "At this exhibition we met with potential buyers from the Middle East- Russia and Asia. So, a lot of opportunities to expand."

For more information
Valentine Growers
Mary N Mwangi
Email: mary.mwangi@valentinegrowers.com
www.valentinegrowers.com