Kenya Floriculture Council (KFC) Sounds Alarm, Calls for Urgent Reforms to Protect Kenya’s Sh108 Billion Flower Industry.

By Churchill Simiyu Reporter.

Nairobi, Thursday, December 18, 2025.

The Kenya Flower Council (KFC) has urged the government to urgently reform the business environment to shield the country’s floriculture industry from mounting policy and cost pressures that threaten one of Kenya’s most valuable export pillars.

Floriculture remains among Kenya’s most resilient and globally competitive sectors, contributing about 1.6 per cent to GDP and nearly 18 per cent of total export earnings. In 2024, the industry generated Sh108 billion (USD 835 million) in export revenues, directly employing over 200,000 workers and supporting more than two million livelihoods—largely women and youth in rural communities.

Despite global inflation and high freight costs, the sector recorded modest growth in export volumes and farm-gate values last year, signalling sustained international demand for Kenyan flowers. With the right policy support, KFC says the industry could more than double its earnings to over USD 1.4 billion by 2030.
“The sector continues to anchor rural economies, support county development and earn critical foreign exchange,” KFC said, adding that floriculture could expand by an additional 5,000 hectares over the next decade and create up to 20,000 new jobs through value addition—goals aligned with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

The Council highlighted the rising participation of smallholder and medium-scale growers in export markets, driven by consolidation in key producing counties including Nakuru, Laikipia, Kiambu, Meru, Uasin Gishu and Nyandarua. While the trend is boosting inclusive growth and resilience, KFC cautioned that many first-time exporters face unpredictable regulations and high compliance costs that could erode competitiveness.
KFC also reaffirmed Kenya’s global leadership in sustainable floriculture, noting that more than 80 per cent of flower exports are certified under the FOSS standard, which promotes environmental stewardship, labour rights and gender equity. However, the Council warned that escalating costs—fuelled by multiple levies, delayed VAT refunds exceeding Sh12 billion and taxes that discourage value addition—are straining growers’ liquidity.

To safeguard jobs and sustain export growth, KFC called for fast-tracking verified VAT refunds, harmonising and rationalising levies, exempting agricultural exports from the KEBS Standards Levy and reducing logistics and airfreight costs, particularly at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Other proposals include digitising approvals under an “apply once, pay once” model and conducting regulatory impact assessments before introducing new taxes.

Looking ahead, KFC reaffirmed its commitment to working with national and county governments, regulators and development partners to protect export jobs, promote value addition and accelerate climate-smart agriculture.
“A predictable and enabling business environment would protect over 200,000 jobs, unlock more than USD 1.4 billion in export earnings by 2030 and cement Kenya’s position as a global floriculture powerhouse,” the Council said.

Established in 1996, the Kenya Flower Council is the country’s premier business membership organisation representing flower producers, exporters and value chain actors, and champions sustainable agriculture through its internationally benchmarked FOSS certification standard.