Kenya - Consolidation Centre for Flowers
Country:
Kenya
Location:
Nairobi – Naivasha
Value chains:
Flowers, Avocado, Vegetables
Project value:
€ 20 million
Project Description
Consolidation Centre for Flowers is a cold storage, reefer consolidation and empty depot facility close to intermodal connections as well as major production areas. For flowers to be moved by sea-freight, consolidation from multiple farms for frequent shipments by sea freight (as well as air freight) is key, whereas sea freight requires rapid pre-cooling after harvest.
reduction in carbon emission through seafreight
of flowers go to the Netherlands
livelihoods supported by Kenyan Horticulture
Kenya is already one of Africa's horticulture powerhouses. Integrated agro-logistics will allow it to take the next step.
With annual avocado and flower exports of 70,000 tonnes and 150,000 tonnes respectively, Kenya is already a major player in multiple global horticulture markets. However, the majority of export volumes remains reliant on air-freight solutions to transport cargo from Kenya to destination markets. Moving these volumes to sea-freight is key to future-proofing Kenya's horticulture industry. This transition will contribute to reducing the CO2 footprint (sea freight having up to 95% lower emissions than airfreight) and reduction of post-harvest losses (with an estimate of 25% of flowers currently being discarded).
Reliable cold chain solutions are an important pre-requisite to achieving this transition. The Government of the Netherlands has requested Flying Swans to explore possibilities for such solutions, which will not only make the Kenyan horticulture sector more sustainable, but also more accessible for smaller producers.
In March 2022, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation signed a Letter of Intent on Cool Logistics with the Kenyan minister of Transport. The Minister's visit can be viewed below (video by Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
