Kenya’s JKIA crisis hits flower exports

Kenya’s flower deliveries to the Netherlands could be cut after the main airport in Nairobi faced a freight crisis.

Airflo BV, a Dutch fresh produce handling and transportation company has directed its Kenyan customers to reduce delivery as a result of the ongoing freighter crisis at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), which has caused accumulation of cargo.

The company says flight cancellations and delays at the airport are significantly impacting its operations during the start of the 2024/2025 high season.“Over the past weeks, our team in Kenya has informed you (customers) about the significant flight cancellations and delays impacting the start of the 24-25 high season,” the company says in a public notice to clients dated November 1.“These disruption have removed 300 tonnes from our planned airfreight capacity, and despite our efforts to arrange charter flights to recover the situation, there is simply no capacity available due to demand levels ex Asia.”Several international airlines have withdrawn their freight services from JKIA in favour of other routes in China and the US offering relatively better returns.

The cargo airlines, for instance, are earning up to $8 per kilogramme from uplifting perishable goods from Asia to the US compared to Kenya where they are earning $2.5 to $2.8 per kilogramme.

Following the prolonged gray situation at JKIA Airflo company ordered its clients not to deliver any product on Sunday (November 3) and to prepare for a reduction in planned volumes.“Unfortunately, this situation remains unchanged for week 45. As we work to resolve a two-day backlog, we must request that you do not deliver any product on November 3 and further, that you prepare for a reduction in planned volumes for the upcoming week,” the company says.“We are cognisant that a more constructive solution would have been to secure and deploy additional capacity but this has (as stated above) not been possible and we have therefore been left with no option but to impose these restrictions.”The logistics crisis facing the fresh produce cargo destined to the European markets from JKIA has increased the cargo roll overs by about 300 tonnes with fears that this could reach 800 tonnes if the situation continues to deteriorate according to the Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA).“Input from airlines is encouraging and we remain optimistic that this situation will improve as airlines return aircraft to service. We are all too aware of the ramifications that these restrictions will have on your supply chain and therefore I ask for your continued understanding and support,” Airflo says.

Airflo is a major player in the world of international temperature-controlled logistics for flowers, plants, vegetables, fruit and herbs.

The company has become a specialist in the international transport of perishables from Kenya and the Netherlands, delivering some 80 million kilogrammes of flowers a year.

According to SCEA, foreign cargo airlines have been attracted by the relatively better pay for their services in other global jurisdictions because of the increased festive activities.

The crisis in the Red Sea, where Houthi rebels have been targetting pro-Israeli ships, has also exacerbated the situation by increasing the cost of transit through Egypt's Suez Canal by $200 per refrigerated (reefer) container and prolonging the transit time by 10 days as vessels take a longer route through the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa to Europe.

Kenya’s horticulture sector generated Ksh157 billion ($1.29 billion) in export earnings in 2023, according to data from the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA).

Airflo arranges for goods sent by different companies to be stored and transported together.

The intermediaries known as consolidators, collect goods or packages from customers and load them all into the container.