Date: Thursday, December 1, 2011
Categories: Cut Flowers, Ethiopia, Kenya, ProVerde projects, Tanzania, Uganda
The World Bank, in cooperation with the Kenya Flower Council (KFC), organised a series of video conference-based seminars on topics pertaining to competitiveness in the floriculture industry. The 5th seminar, held on the 29th of November 2011, covered the issue of global competitiveness of floriculture production in the East Africa Region. Representatives from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda participated in the videoconference.
ProVerde was asked to prepare an issue paper on the competitiveness of the Kenyan flower industry and by extension the East African producer’s compared to other global producers and exporters. The paper provided an important contextual and experiential learning point for the other countries involved in the videoconference. Results from the study were presented and discussed during the conference. Read more »
Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Categories: CSR, News
The Flower Label Program (FLP) certification scheme has been successfully benchmarked with the Fair Flowers Fair Plants (FFP) standard. With immediate effect, all FLP-certified producers can now market their produce also under the FFP-consumer label. The FLP producers can extend the FFP assortment at short notice. Due to the recent increase of FFP points of sale in Europe, these flowers will be more than welcome. At the same time, FLP is the first consumer label which enables it’s growers to market as well under FFP.
Read more »
Date: Thursday, August 11, 2011
Categories: News
This year, FloraHolland flower auction celebrates its having been existence for a hundred years. With the motto of 100 Years’ Color, the jubilee will be marked this autumn at FloraHolland’s marketplaces in Aalsmeer, Bleiswijk, Eelde, Naaldwijk and Rijnsburg. A century ago, growers agreed on the organization of the first local-scale flower auction, over a game of billiards in a pub.
A hundred years on, FloraHolland is a still-growing, internationally-active auction company: each day, the cooperative sees 8,000 Dutch and foreign growers delivering their flowers and plants; 2,500 professional customers (including many exporters and wholesalers) doing their purchasing; and a staff of well over 4,000 come to work. The auction has a turnover of 4.1 billion euros and sells more than 12 billion flowers and plants a year, making it a significant contributor to the Dutch economy. Read more »
Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Categories: Cut Flowers, Market research
Traditionally, most flowers heading for European markets enter the European Union via Amsterdam airport, located near the Dutch auctions. From mid-2009, however, many Dutch importers developed a preference for Belgian airports.
Importing fresh flowers through Belgium was, and still is, easier, due to the availability of night flights, handling benefits, lower costs, and smoother customs procedures and phytosanitary checks.
For as long as they last, the advantages are worth the effort (see figure).
Source: ProVerde
Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Categories: Kenya, News, Requirements
Europe has issued a fresh warning of possible revenue losses for Kenya should the East African Community (EAC) fails to reach a trade deal soon.
“Kenya risks taxation on its exports to Europe by virtue of economic strength if the trade talks stall”, Mr Bernard Rey, head of the European Delegation told players in the horticulture sector. “EAC should realise the risks of the current situation of uncertainty. Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, all are least-developed countries, will enjoy duty-free quota access to the EU markets even if the EPA (economic partnership agreement) is not signed,” Mr Rey
said. “But Kenya will risk seeing tariffs imposed on a good number of exports to Europe including horticulture products”.
Read more »
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011
Categories: EU, News
2010 was an important year for the Belgian distribution market. This was the year Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn officially confirmed its arrival, Delhaize started an offensive and Carrefour also showed a fighting spirit again. With the Dutch threat so definitive all of a sudden, there even was the possibility of a price war.
But what was the actual result for the supermarkets and what was the real result according to the figures? Following a good annual tradition Marketing Map prepared their report.
Read more »
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011
Categories: Fruit & vegetables, News
All 27 EU member states will have to adhere to new rules on food labelling, giving consumers more information about the nutritional aspects of packaged food products. The new EU food labelling laws were given the last nod by the European Parliament last week and are expected to enter into force in three years’ time, giving food manufacturers ample time to adapt to the new regime.
Read more »
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011
Categories: Fruit & vegetables, Poland
In 2010/11, Poland’s fruit and vegetable output recorded notable declines due to adverse weather patterns. Tighter raw material stocks should reflect itself in lower output of fruit and vegetable preserves for nearly every product. In 2011/12, horticultural production should rebound but farmers and processors must face new challenges holding unforeseen consequences on the market, such as rising costs, lingering concerns over E Coli and Russia’s embargo of Polish fresh vegetables. Initial forecasts are for increased production of juices and exports of fresh apples, stronger export prices for strawberries but weaker for fresh apples and apple juice.
Read more »
Date: Friday, April 22, 2011
Categories: Market research, News, ProVerde projects, Training
In April, about 30 Vietnames exporters participated in a joint CBI and ITPC workshop about Market Research. The course, which was carried out with collaboration by ProVerde, aims to provide exporters with knowledge, skills and tools to collect and analyse data about EU markets, EU buyers, and EU restrictions to export/trade and trade channels.
The market research workshops are designed to be practical and focus around individual and group exercises to complement the short blocks of theory.
Read more »
Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Categories: Cut Flowers, Ethiopia, Market research, News
Already a top 5 EU flower supplier, Ethiopia steps up its market drive
Ten years ago, Ethiopian flower exports were virtually non-existent. Today, the country ranks among the European Union’s top 5 fresh-cut flower suppliers and floriculture has become one of the nation’s main foreign exchange earners. Economic woes in 2009 and the effects of the ash cloud in 2010 caused a minor shakeout, but about a hundred growers have emerged from these storms stronger and more eager than ever to consolidate and expand on their export position by stepping up their market drive, improving efficiency and diversifying product ranges.
As far as the flower industry is concerned, the worst of the economic recession seems to be over. Though prices may not climb back to pre-crisis levels, the 2009 slump seems to be a thing of the past, with EU imports steadily rising. Trade figures on the whole suggest the global flower market is rebounding and the mood in the market is one of cautious optimism.
Read more »
