Catherine Riungu And Paul Redfern
Nairobi

Britain’s International Development secretary has condemend a move led by supermarkets in the United Kingdom to reduce stocks of imported flowers from Africa.

Yesterday was lovers’ day, also known as Valentine’s day, when local sales for flowers, especially roses, tend to shoot up. However, the plan by the UK supermarkets cast a shadow on the industry which exports heavily to that market.

Mr Hilary Benn, told an international sustainable food conference that recent research showed that flowers flown from Africa used less energy than those produced in Europe, because they’re not grown in heated greenhouses.

Carbon dioxide emissions

“A recent study shows that the emissions produced by growing flowers in Kenya and flying them to the UK can be less than a fifth of those grown in heated and lighted greenhouses in Holland because Kenya is warm and sunny, and heating greenhouses in Holland uses enormous amounts of energy,” Mr Benn said in a statement.

This follows their adoption of the Carbon Emissions and Trade Miles Market Requirements that could see flower exports drop by over 50 per cent, Kenya Flower Council chairman Erastus Mureithi said. The UK is the largest single market for Kenya’s flowers. Since the UK retailers led by Tesco announced that they would reduce the amount of flowers exported from Africa – ostensibly over their concern on the effects of air-freighted flowers on the environment last month – talks about the future of the industry are now centre-stage A meeting was to be held by the Kenya Flower Council in Nairobi yesterday to discuss the threat posed by the Trade Miles Market Requirements.

A recent study by the International Institute for Environment and Development, conducted at the Naivasha-based Oserian Flowers, shows that although air transport does have an environmental impact, air-freights from Africa account for less than one tenth of one per cent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr Benn said that if the UK boycotted goods from Africa the poor would be denied the chance to educate their children and stay healthy.

He told UK consumers to continue buying their flowers from Kenya and not the European Union. In a speech timed to coincide with Valentines Day – the most important day in the flower sellers calendar – Mr Benn hit out at critics who said that people should stop buying their flowers from Kenya because of the damage caused to the environment by flying the flowers to the EU.

“People want to buy ethically, and do their bit for climate change, but often don’t realise that they can support developing countries and reduce carbon emissions. Recent research shows that flowers flown from Africa can use less energy overall than those produced in Europe because they’re not grown in heated greenhouses.

“We should remember that people living in the vast majority of African countries are responsible for a tiny amount of carbon emissions.” Mr Benn’s speech was based on a new report commissioned by the UK supermarket chain Sainsburys and World Flowers which indicated that carbon emissions for Kenyan roses including air freight, were just 17 per cent of those for Dutch roses.

The study found that 6,000 kg of carbon dioxide were produced per batch of Kenyan roses compared to 35,000 kg for flowers grown in the Netherlands.

High output

Yields in Kenya are also around double those produced in the Netherlands, thanks to year-round sunshine, which means that unlike in the European Union, flowers do not have to be artificially heated under cover.

Around one third of UK flower imports come from Kenya. British shoppers also spend over Sh135 million a day on imported fruit and vegetables from Africa, including Kenya.

“What this (study) shows is that it is not as simple as avoiding products from far-flung places,” Alison Austin of Sainsburys told the Times newspaper.

“Its about gathering information to make an informed carbon choice.”

But the European Federation of Professional Florist Associations general secretary Toine Zwitserlood condemned Mr Benn’s speech.

“It’s a very strange argument,” he said. “The big picture is not only energy; its other things like child labour and how employees are treated on farms.”

Kenya’s High Commissioner to Britain, Joseph Muchemi, said: “The response of European retailers to consumer concerns about ‘food miles’ could undermine Kenya’s social and economic development.”

He warned that the move posed a major threat to earnings of flower exporters in Kenya and urged the retailers to reconsider their action. source : allafrica.com