Kenya’s floriculture industry has remained one of the country’s most resilient and globally competitive export sectors and a flagship contributor to the Bottom-Up Economic Agenda.
In 2024, export volumes and farm gate values grew modestly despite global inflation and high freight costs, demonstrating continued market confidence in Kenya’s flowers.
Speaking during a media breakfast meeting on Safeguarding Kenya’s Floriculture Industry: A Call for a Conducive Business Environment, the Kenya Flower Council (KFC) Chief Executive Officer Clement Tulezi said the sector generated Sh108 billion in export earnings last year.
“This industry contributes approximately 1.6 percent of national GDP and nearly one-fifth of Kenya’s total export earnings, sustaining more than two million livelihoods across production regions,” he noted.
Tulezi said despite the global and domestic disruptions of recent years, the sector remains resilient noting that with supportive policies, the industry can grow revenues from USD 835 million last year to over USD 1.4 billion by 2030.
This sector has remained resilient over the years. We are highly entrenched within the bottom-up economic agenda of the current government. We are looking at climate change development, and also when we look at our SMEs, a lot of entrants of small growers are now coming into this space,” he said.
The CEO termed the increase in participation by smallholder growers supplying export markets through consolidation as critical for inclusive growth, rural income diversification, and accelerating Kenya Kwanza’s BETA agenda to empower small growers as engines of job creation and regional economic development.
The growth trajectory, Tulezi said, should therefore be to expand production by 5,000 additional hectares over 10 years and increase value-addition at the source with a potential to add an extra 20,000 jobs.
He named counties such as Nakuru, Laikipia, Kiambu, Meru, Uasin Gishu, and Nyandarua, which have seen expansion of smallholder and medium-scale farms, signaling a healthy sector pipeline. though underpinned by certain challenges.
“Supporting growth through smallholders is critical because it expands household income in rural areas, increases county-level export earnings, deepens Kenya’s competitiveness through diversified supplies, and strengthens resilience by broadening the producer base. Many of these firms are entering the export market for the first time and require predictable regulatory policies and affordable compliance pathways,” Tulezi said.
The CEO said that although the government has given the sector support, reforms remain urgent, and he urged the government to look at the investment climate and come in with mechanisms to be able to reduce cost, spur up job protection, and also expand the country’s export goals.
“The Council appreciates the ongoing government efforts, and we have been in discussion with a lot of government ministries and agencies to be able to streamline trade processes. We have looked at the predictable tax and regulatory environment, and we need to have a one-stop processing and cargo clearance system and the VAT refunds,” Tulezi.
The flower industry in 2025 has been a year of stark contrasts, and while Kenyan flowers continue to dominate the European market, the industry is grappling with an unprecedented squeeze from punitive taxes, a crippling Sh12 billion VAT refund backlog, and a fiercely competitive global landscape.
By Wangari Ndirangu
