Valentine’s Day is traditionally when airlines boast their flower-carrying credentials – but the growers are increasingly eyeing different modes.
Media has previously reported how perishables shippers were increasingly looking to sea freight as air freight capacity constraints have worsened.
According to Jeroen van der Hulst, founder of Flowerwatch, sea freight has “been on the agenda for the last 20 years”, with the momentum there, “price-wise”., delegates at the World Cargo Summit in Bruges heard.
“Air freight is scarce and demand for more cargo capacity is high. For the first time, we are at an interesting price gap between air freight and sea freight,” he explained.
However, the supply chain specialist at Royal FloraHolland, Eline van den Berg, said that, since the Red Sea crisis and other geopolitical issues, “the shift towards sea freight from East Africa stopped completely”.
And according to Mr van der Hulst, prior to the Red Sea diversions, in 2023, Nairobi exported some 1,000 reefer containers of flowers, equating to around 5%-8% of its total flower exports.
He explained that the transit time between Nairobi and Amsterdam being around 25-28 days via the Suez Canal, but close to 50 days around the Cape of Good Hope, this alternative route was “too much”.
“It wouldn’t be interesting anymore for our growers to choose sea freight, so we are completely dependent on air freight,” added Ms van den Berg.
Mr van der Hulst suggested Nairobi’s export volumes of flowers going via ocean would have more-than-doubled with the Suez Canal open to between 12% and 18% of shipments – spurred on by “German supermarkets embracing sea freight and the current air capacity shortage”.
Indeed, beside the capacity constraints, some retailers like Lidl or Albert Heijn have decided to no longer use air freight, for sustainability reasons, providing another incentive for shippers to seek sea freight alternatives.
But Alain Tulpin, owner of Tulpin Group, pointed out: “What are you going to do with countries like Uganda? The nearest port for Uganda is Dar es Salaam or Mombasa. That’s 850km by roads where everything you eat is shaken out. It’s not possible. Do you forbid these people to have access to European markets?”
Mr van der Hulst concluded that, eventually, sea freight would “find its rightful place beside air freight”, which could settle at a 50:50, 60:40, or 40:60 ratio, but wouldn’t be a replacement.
“I don’t think it will be one method pushing out the others. They will have their own unique peaks and troughs,” he said.
“Modal shift is a good option, but it’s not always a reliable alternative,” summarised Ms van den Berg.
