For the complete report from the Business Daily Africa click on this link Economic slowdown in Europe caps growth of flower exports - by Dominique Patton
Figures released on August 14 show that the euro-area economy shrank at an annualised rate of 0.8 per cent in the second quarter, the first such reversal since 2001. And things are unlikely to improve soon. Flower industry experts now say this slow down means Europe will be unable to absorb more Kenyan flowers this year — ruling out any hope of market growth. Peter van Ostaijen, the director of Dutch flower information service HBAG and vice secretary general of the international trade association, Union Fleurs, says demand for flowers in Europe is stagnating. “Exports are clearly in a phase of going down,” he told Business Daily, referring to sales from Holland to large European markets like Germany and UK. “We expect to sustain the current level of exports but growth will be at zero, not the two to three per cent we realised in the previous years.” During times of recession, consumers tend to economise on luxury items and for most people, cut flowers fall into this category. “The sales figures are going down. Last year the Dutch industry grew by four per cent over 2007. In the first half of this year, growth has been flat,” said Mr van Ostaijen.
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