The spike in demand for red roses ahead of Valentine’s Day has been a windfall for Qatar Airways Cargo, which transported 1 600 tonnes of flowers, the equivalent of 25 million fresh-cut Kenyan red roses on its Nairobi-Doha and Liège routes in time for the occasion.
In addition to its scheduled passenger and cargo flights, the cargo carrier added nine Boeing 777 charter freighters in the fortnight leading up to Valentine’s Day, to support the increased demand during this peak season.
On an annual basis, the airline uplifts more than 25 000 tonnes of freight from Kenya. Seventy-five per cent of that is flowers, with meat, fruits and vegetables making up the majority of the remaining cargo.
About 40% of Kenya’s flowers are transported, mainly to European countries. Other significant markets include the Middle East, Japan and Australia.
