Flowers sub-sector staring at not-so-rosy Valentine's

Flower traders are staring at a not-so-rosy Valentine’s due to tough market conditions. The traders say a difficult trading period due to poor weather and duplicity of taxes levied by both the national and county governments have seen revenue for the sector dry up.

Kenya has been the dominant flower grower in the region for years, until Ethiopia checked in and became the key competitor. The Ethiopian government saw the potential in flowers when they first exported flowers worth $150 million (Sh15.263 billion) and decided to create incentives to attract investors in the sector.