Kenya’s Blooming Flower Industry: Enhancing Global Competitiveness

Abstract

Although Kenya was the largest producer of flowers in Africa and one of the world’s largest exporters of cut flowers, it faced increased competition from Europe, Latin America, and emerging African markets. Ratification of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU) and members of the East African Community (EAC) would give African exporters access to European markets that would, in turn, benefit from tariff-free imports. By early 2017, with three EAC member countries left to sign the EPA, internal EAC disagreements caused the ratification process to collapse. With the mid-2017 deadline for ratification approaching, the Kenya Flower Council, an association of independent growers and exporters, was searching for ways to enhance global competitiveness in the face of growing market challenges.