Boon for flower farmers as Eldoret airport resumes direct flights to Europe

Direct exports of cut flowers to European markets from Eldoret International Airport have resumed as farms in the North Rift seek to turn around their fortunes and boost the regional economy.

Data from the airport shows that at its peak, in 2006, 956 tonnes of agricultural produce were exported via the facility.

But since 2009, the airport has largely been used for passenger movement and imports of goods such as electronics and textiles for local and East African markets.

The airport, with the capacity to handle 1.2 million tonnes of cargo annually, and cold storage capacity of 250 metric tonnes, has now partnered with Ethiopian Airlines to export fresh produce to European markets such as Belgium and the Netherlands.

“For many years, farmers have been transporting their produce by road, which means extra costs. But now this is a game changer in the horticultural sector as it will significantly lower costs,” said airport manager Walter Agong’.

“Farmers are excited about this new milestone and we are targeting to increase volumes from the current five tonnes per a week to 15 to over 20 tonnes starting this week. That is five tonnes in each of the three flights in a week.”

Cut flowers export

On November 30, the airport exported the first batch of five tonnes of cut flowers. In the past two weeks, it has exported over 10 tonnes of the produce.

Flower farms and other fresh produce in the North Rift region of Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia counties transport their produce by road to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for export.

Charles Mwita, the head of marketing at the airport, said that direct exports will help cut costs and maintain the quality of the produce.

“We are keen to start exports of other agricultural produce like avocado… Currently, we have limited space for the exports by the airliner but they have promised us that from January next year we will get more space to export local agricultural produce,” he said.

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), in an earlier statement, said it wanted to increase the volumes to boost the trade in the country’s traditional food basket.

“The airport, while working closely with flower and horticultural farmers in the region, aims to (export) at least 35 tonnes per load by March next year,” KAA said.

For close to a decade, the airport has been involved in handling imports and passenger flights owing to low volumes of agricultural produce for export.

Cargo handlers

The airport has two cargo handlers - Canken International Ltd and Siginon Freight Handlers - with cold rooms but for many years these operators had remained idle due to limited products for export. But the situation is set to change with the move to re-launch direct exports.

Canken has 110 tonnes of storage capacity for dry or imported goods and 230 tonnes to handle fresh produce, while Siginon has 40 tonnes of largely underutilised cold rooms and another 200 tonnes for dry cargo.

KAA says the airport can handle 1.2 million tonnes of cargo annually, with a cold storage capacity of 250 metric tonnes.

The airport, it says, can accommodate medium-size haul planes such as Boeing B767 or Airbus 310. The existing structure can handle 1.5 million passengers, 62,000 tonnes of cargo and 36,000 aircraft per year.

Counties under the North Rift Economic Bloc (Noreb) and other stakeholders have in recent years championed diversification into horticultural crops, away from the traditional maize and wheat crops in a bid to generate additional revenues and boost the local economy.

Noreb, formed in 2015, brings together eight counties — Uasin Gishu, West Pokot, Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Nandi, Elgeyo-Marakwet and Trans Nzoia.

“This is airport is increasingly becoming more commercially viable as a cargo hub in the Western region. As a region, we are keen to tap into this to increase revenue and improve livelihoods in the region,” said Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago, Noreb chairperson.

Passenger flights

Although Covid-19 restrictions disrupted passenger movement and flights, the airport has bounced back, registering over 90 per cent passenger flights, according to the latest data.

The volume of cargo handled by the airport, data showed, dropped 12.5 per cent as of February this year on Covid-19 disruptions.

Data from the airport indicates that cargo volumes stood at 8.5 million kilogrammes as of February 2021 compared to 9.6 million kilogrammes in the same period last year.

Some of the airlines that bring goods to the airport are Emirates and Ethiopian Airlines. Astral Aviation, a local cargo airliner, launched flights in March this year, ferrying goods from the Middle East.

“If we get more cargo handlers at Eldoret Airport then it will allow the farmers to consolidate their flowers,” said Nehemiah Kangogo, the general manager at Equator Flowers farm in Uasin Gishu in a recent interview.

“It will reduce the time by one hour because Eldoret is closer to Europe than Nairobi to Europe. It will also reduce costs while maintaining the quality since it requires that they be transported and kept under the temperatures of 4 degree Celsius.”

As for passenger numbers, the airport also recorded a decline last year to 106,459 compared with 188,247 the previous year, because the airspace was closed for several months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2021, the airport projects the number to hit 500,000. The airport is yet to release its full year-data.

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