Report European Market Players on Sea Freight
The cost of transport to Europe is the main expense faced by Kenyan exporters of horticulture products, such as flowers. The air freight industry is well-developed in Kenya and highly flexible to meet demands. The sea freight industry of fresh produce, however, is less developed and could become many times larger. The Netherlands embassy in Nairobi is very keen to further explore the potential of sea freight for exporting flowers from Kenya.
Talks with sector actors have indicated that a crucial factor for the success of sea freight is the acceptance of sea freight as an alternative by European market parties. Therefore, a survey among key market players was caried out to get a better understanding of their view on the potential bottlenecks and opportunities regarding the further development of sea transportation as a viable alternative for air freight.