Irene Kariuki holds a bouquet of flowers at Midwise Décor stalls outside Nation Centre on February 14, 2024, during Valentine's Splash 2024 Expo. Traders reported a shortage of lilies in the local market. PHOTO | BONFACE BOGITA | NMG
|Life & Style
Premium
Lovers buy 'fakes' on lilies shortage
The shortage of lilies, as suppliers solely focus on international markets to cash in on the high dollar exchange rate, has denied Kenyans a chance to gift their lovers the unique flower this Valentine's season.
Demand for lillies has grown in recent years, thanks to their beauty and elegant scent, but now buyers have to make do with plastic lilies. Others have had to settle for the common red roses while some have opted for pink, purple or yellow roses or Chrysanthemums, commonly known as mums.
Phineas Jospah, a flower seller at Jospa Florist in Nairobi, says that lilies supply has been an issue for some time now, as suppliers seek to earn more from the varieties as the currency exchange rate hit record 160 mark.
He says the suppliers are now resorting to exporting all their lily flowers as they aim to tap into the open market created by the high dollar rate.
“Supply chain challenges and the dollar rate have resulted in a shortage of fresh lily flowers locally, especially the ones grown for events like Valentine's Day. Initially, suppliers would give us the second-class flowers to sell locally, but they are now exporting even the third class, leaving the local market with nothing to sell,” says Mr Jospah.
Cut flowers are graded as extra class, first class, and second class based on quality. The highest qualities are usually sold in international markets.
This, Mr Jospah says, has caused the prices of other flowers, like roses, to almost double as wholesallers and retailers scramble to fill orders.
Sh400 per stem
Flower shops in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD) are charging up to Sh600 for 10-stemmed roses, an increase from the normal Sh200. Ten stems of lilies are now going for Sh1,500, up from Sh1,200. A single stem now costs Sh400.
To help cushion the customers, Mr Jospah says he encourages them to choose other flower varieties, including pink, white, and yellow roses.
Mugambi Phamenus, another flower seller, says he stopped stocking the lilies to avoid disappointing his customers.
"My customers would make orders but end up with a different flower, some would get upset so I decided to pause its purchase before Valentine's Day. I knew I would be under pressure to deliver what I can’t," says Mr Mugambi.
A report by the Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya (FPCK) shows that Kenya exported 116,000 tonnes of cut flowers valued at Sh73 billion in 2023 compared to 203,000 tonnes in 2022 which earned the country Sh104 billion.
Some of the leading export destinations include the Netherlands with a market share of 27.3 percent of the total horticulture exports, the UK with 14.3 percent, and France, the United Arab Emirates, and Germany with 12, 5.8, and 5.1 percent, respectively.
