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Daniel Moge, Kimman Roses on gypsophila:

"Kenya: "Prices stabilize after being sky high"

The last couple of months have been extraordinary for many Kenyan gypsophila growers. Due to the cold weather in Kenya and the shutdown of large gypsophila grower Esmeralda farms in Ethiopia, the amount of gypsophilas at the Dutch auction dropped, resulting in high prices in an off-season period. Now, the situation seems to have stabilized as the farms are recovering and therefore increasing their volumes to the auction.


Daniel Moge at the IFTEX in Nairobi, Kenya

High prices
"In July, which is known as the off season period, the prices skyrocketed", says Daniel Moge, Managing Director of Kimman Roses, a Kenyan gypsophila grower. According to him, the gypsophila prices at the auction increased by around 50 percent and reached the level of Valentine's Day or even higher. "Usually, during the off-season period, the price per gram is 1 euro cent and at that time, they were 1.5 euro cents", he says.

Low supply
And the high prices are a logical consequence of the decreased supply of gypsophilas in general. During the summer months, Kenya had to deal with cold weather which decreased the production of many flower farms in Kenya, also at gypsophila growers like Kimman Roses. They are located in the highlands of Kenya and due to the cold weather their production decreased by 60 percent.

Current situation
According to Moge, the situation normalized. "The growers are recovering from the cold weather and their volumes are increasing, which is visible on the clock. A couple of months ago, for example, only about 20,000 to 50,000 stems were supplied to the auction on a daily basis; now, this amount increased to 100,000 to 110,000 a day. This is closer to the amount of gypsophillas that are usually being supplied to the auction during this time of the year." In turn, the prices decreased, but they are still satisfied. "It is still a bit higher than usual."

Forecast
In the coming weeks, Kimman Roses will increase its volumes too. "In less than 21 days, we expect to be in full production again. And this production will be even higher than last year as we added 3 ha of gypsophila cultivation", he says. And regarding the prices, Moge expects them to stabilize. "I do not think they will peak again, but I do not think they will go down either."

Kimman Roses will be exhibiting at the International Floriculture & Horticulture Trade Fair (IFTF) in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands, that will be held from November 2-4, 2016. Kimman roses can be visited at booth number C3.09

For more information
Kimman Roses
Daniel Moge
Email: [email protected]
www.kimmanroses.co.ke