Kenya Flower Council chief executive Clement Tulezi said in an interview that the country is currently earning less than a billion from the US market.
Earnings from the horticulture sector hit Sh115 billion [1.1 billion USD] last year from Sh101 billion [996 million USD] announced in 2016. Companies licensed to export the flowers also increased to 386 from 356 in 2016.
The total export volumes increased by 26,303 tons to 159,961 tons in said period, while the value rose to 82.25 billion from 70.8 billion.
“We also expect that the direct flights would increase our Share of the US market from the current 0.4 per cent to 10 per cent,” Tulezi said.
Outgoing head of the horticulture directorate Zakayo Magara said in a separate interview that the flight will open up the flower sector to a market of over 1 billion people.