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PHOTOS | No bed of roses: Masked workers pick flowers amid pandemic, rising cases
Floriculture is a key economic pillar for Africa’s top flower exporters, Kenya and Ethiopia. The sector - which cultivates flowers for largely European markets such as the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Britain - generates over $1 billion annually and employs hundreds of thousands of people across the two east African nations. In Kenya, flower exports are among the top foreign exchange earners, along with tourism and remittances.With overseas demand for fresh-cut flowers plummeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of women in flower farms in Kenya and Ethiopia have lost their jobs and are at risk of being pushed into poverty, warned labour rights campaigners. The coronavirus crisis, they add, has spotlighted long-standing problems in global supply chains, such as East Africa’s flower industry which employs mostly female workers growing bouquets of roses and carnations for western supermarkets. However, demand for Kenya's flowers has recovered to around 85% of pre-coronavirus levels as European markets open up after lockdowns, an industry body said, spurring hope that the industry could see a full rebound by next year. Kenyan farmers were forced to throw away millions of roses in March as Europe sealed borders and residents put weddings and funerals on hold. But demand is coming back as restrictions ease and growers are hoping it will recover fully by next year, said Clement Tulezi, chief executive of the Kenya Flower Council.
Updated on: Jul 21, 2020 3:24 PM IST
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View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Jul 21, 2020 3:24 PM
A worker walks through rows of roses in a greenhouse while wearing protective equipment to help fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Maridadi flower farm in Naivasha, Kenya, July 20, 2020. (REUTERS)
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View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Jul 21, 2020 3:24 PM
Workers sort roses on the packing line while wearing protective equipment to help fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Maridadi flower farm in Naivasha, Kenya, July 20, 2020. (REUTERS)
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View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Jul 21, 2020 3:24 PM
FILE PHOTO: Workers push wheelbarrows full of roses that will be thrown away because they can not be shipped to Europe due of the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Maridadi flower farm in Naivasha, Kenya, March 19, 2020. (REUTERS)
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View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Jul 21, 2020 3:24 PM
Roses are seen in a greenhouse as Kenya tries to fight the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Maridadi flower farm in Naivasha July 20, 2020. (REUTERS)
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View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Jul 21, 2020 3:24 PM
A worker sorts roses on the packing line while wearing protective equipment to help fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)at the Maridadi flower farm in Naivasha, Kenya, July 20, 2020. (REUTERS)
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View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Jul 21, 2020 3:24 PM
Roses are seen in the packing line as Kenya tries to fight the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Maridadi flower farm in Naivasha July 20, 2020. (REUTERS)
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View Photos in a new improved layoutUpdated on Jul 21, 2020 3:24 PM
