Chinese market

“The EU has a quota system that limits the amount of agriculture produce you can export,” said Kittony, adding that this was less of a case in China.

An added advantage is that Kenya Airways and China Southern Airlines, both of which have direct flights between Kenya and China, facilitate transportation of perishable horticultural products.

He confirmed that the value of horticultural exports to China between January and July this year totaled $320 million. This figure is 16 times more than the horticultural exports to China in 2015.

“A market study to learn about consumer behavior was done in China early last year. It was found that the Chinese are large consumers of flowers for many cultural events,” said Kittony, adding that the study also revealed that Chinese consume large amounts of fruits and vegetables. “However, the Kenyan Government is in bilateral talks with the Chinese Government to waive a 4-percent import tariff,” said Kittony, who is also the vice chairman of the World Chambers Federation.