Royal De Ruiter East Africa Holds Successful Open Days Showcase

Royal De Ruiter East Africa welcomed African rose growers and other players in the floriculture industry to their first open house showcase this year. The two day event held on 9th and 10th March was an opportunity for Royal De Ruiter to showcase their current commercial varieites, new market introductions as well as code varieties. “The open days were timely as we got to share with our partners our strategic plan moving forward especially after receiving our royal designation just before close of 2015,” said Edward Manning, MD Royal De Ruiter East Africa. Notably present during the open days was one of Royal De Ruiter owner directors Henk de Groot who interacted with guests as they shared ideas and exchanged deals.

Rose varieties bred at Royal De Ruiter are sold worldwide, supported by a network of agents and representatives who provide prospective buyers with carefully compiled information based on measurements carried out on our products at our various testing facilities. Royal De Ruiter also has testing facilities in all of its production areas across the globe, an approach that has proved highly beneficial in realising the firm’s envisioned goals in respect of product differentiation.

 

 

Dutch Beauty! from Schreurs Grown at Bemack Farm Mt Kenya

Bemack Farm is located in the Mount Kenya region at an altitude of 2,500 meters above sea level. The 13ha farm managed by Mr. Rakesh Kutteih currently planted 5,000m2 of orange Schreurs rose Dutch Beauty!. According to the farm’s packhouse manager, Hannington, this is a unique orange that has a striking and lovely color. “What’s more unique is that at the vase, the rose opens up well without the color fading away making it a good choice for a arrangements,” he adds.

 

  • Has a nice orange color
  • Stem length 60 – 80cm
  • Production 180 – 200 stems per M2 per year.
  • Vase life 10 – 12 days
  • Normal susceptibility to pests & diseases
  • Head size 4 – 5cm
  • Has very good presentation in the buckets & on the vase.


Olij & Jan Spek Roses for that Special Woman

Alpe d’huez

The Jan Spek variety, Alpe d’Huez is an almost pure white rose with a large bud and nicely shaped flower that boasts a unique symmetry. She is also a high producer with good stem-length. When the first bunches of the rose were introduced by Olij Holland, the prices were quite decent and immediately some comparisons started being drawn between Alpe d’huez and other leading roses in the white segment.

 

Top Yellow Kenyan Rose Varieties this Spring

It is said that Spring is the season of new beginnings. A time when earth rejuvenates and comes to life, bringing forth the best of the year. Just like Spring, yellow flowers hold the joy that comes with new beginnings. While most of the other roses such as reds and whites convey passion, love and romance; a yellow rose flower symbolize springtime, friendship, appreciation and devotion.

Kenya boasts an array of beautiful yellow roses that are appreciated across the world. They come in different shades, sizes and lengths, but the common factor amongst them is that they are all very attractive flowers.

 

Dummen Orange East Africa Inaugural 2016 Open Day

Dummen Orange East Africa (DOEA) was abuzz with activity as they hosted flower growers and other guests during their open days in Naivasha on 10th and 11th March. The entire showcase house was in a full beautiful bloom. Dummen Orange top directors were also in town for the two day event and together with their East African counterparts shared their vision with the growers.

Dummen Orange East Africa handles various cutflowers including standard and spray roses, indoor and outdoor carnations, chrysanthemums, statice, phlox, gypsophila, eryngium and solidago.

“We are currently testing several varieties of these flowers at flower farms in the region to gauge the market reaction which will then act as a guide to growers on how and what would be best to grow,” said Peter Mwangi GM Dummen Orange East Africa.

“By merging top breeders and other brands in the industry and blending traditional techniques with modern technologies,Dummen Orange is able to produce superior flowers for the market,” adds Peter.

According to Steve Outram (Dummen Orange East Africa Sales Manager), their target for this year is to cover 70 hectares in the region. An effort he describes as ‘no mean feat’ but one that is achievable especially after last year’s acquisition of Terra Nigra. “Initially, we mostly had big headed roses that were lower in production but now we have added into our assortment smaller headed roses that are high producers, says Steve. Dummen Orange adopted its present brand in 2015, which is a collection of several other excellent brands.


Van Den Berg Sues Kenya Revenue Authority

A flower company in Naivasha is contesting a demand for payment of Sh1.3 billion tax by Kenya revenue authority, saying the formula used threatens the industry. Van Den Berg Kenya Ltd claims the Kenya Revenue Authority used an incorrect formula to arrive at the tax figure for 2008-2013.

Through lawyer Tom Ojienda, the company said the taxman insists on demanding “unsustainable and unreasonable taxes” even after the company had worked out the tax due and submitted its returns. “KRA bases its claim on a general formula and not on actual sales. This threatens the flower industry,” said Prof Ojienda.

Van Den Berg Kenya grows roses in Kenya and sells them to a related company, Van Den Berg BV in the Netherlands. KRA had demanded Sh2.1 billion but revised this to Sh1.3 billion after a few concessions. Prof Ojienda also said the authority violated the transfer pricing rules, which require that once an objection is made, it is bound to respond within a specific timeframe.

He said the authority failed to respond within the legally specified timeframe and the objection was thus deemed to have been allowed. Further, Prof Ojienda said the authority purported to adjust the flower firm’s sales for the years 2008- 2010 to an average price of 0.10 Euros per stem. The company is seeking a declaration that the amount demanded and the formula used to arrive at the tax amount is unlawful. The hearing continues on May 18.

 

Mums were the favorite on Int. Women’s Day

Royal FloraHolland has analysed how the sales went during the holidays of the English Mother’s Day and International Women’s Day.

This year the English Mother’s Day fell on March 6. The purchasing weeks were thus a bit earlier this year than last year when that Mother’s Day fell on March 15. We have ascertained that about 10% more sales of cut flowers were achieved in the English market in the two weeks preceding the English Mother’s Day. This is due mostly to more flowers being sold (about 8% more) at a 2% higher price. We noted more spray chrysanthemums and tulips being given to mothers this year than last year. Roses were less popular this year: 10% fewer roses traded via the Netherlands were bought as presents for English mothers.

In the run up to International Women’s Day (8 March 2016), we noted a rise in sales of cut flowers of almost 8%. In particular, more flowers were sold. We have to take into account that additional sales were generated by the overlap with the English Mother’s Day. As International Women’s Day is a popular holiday especially in Russia, Royal FloraHolland paid particular attention to Russia. In line with recent developments in Russia, the trade to Russia around International Women’s Day was evidently under considerable pressure (8% less turnover).

Over 20% fewer flowers were sold. In particular, tulips were less popular this year compared to last year: 35% fewer stems were traded. Roses were also less attractive in terms of both quantity and price. The winner turned out to be the spray chrysanthemum, of which 10% more flowers were sold at a 15% higher price.

 

Yolande van den Boom new CEO MPS

Extensive experience in primary sector, management, sustainability and certification was decisive in process of engagement Yolande van den Boom (52) succeeds CEO Theo de Groot, who will retire mid July. Van den Boom was born in Rotterdam and is highly involved in themes like CSR and sustainability. Besides this she has extensive knowledge of food security and certificates in that area.

Van den Boom has extensive experience in certification,agriculture and sustainability. She has been involved intensely in setting up and securing various food safety certification schemes. Amongst other projects she has also been involved in co-development of schedules on behalf of Stichting Milieu Keur (SMK). Van den Boom’s extensive experience in sustainable business is very worthwhile for MPS, whose major focus is on greenhouse horticulture. Van den Boom: “I am very happy to join MPS. With my background, my years of experience as a commercial quality and operations director, my knowledge of change management and innovation, as well as my passion for sustainability, I hope to be able to strenghten the leading market position of MPS. All the pieces of the puzzle fall into place for me.”

 

Bayer Cropscience Names new Floriculture Crop Manager

Bayer Crop Science, a leader in innovation and solutions for the flowers industry in East Africa, announced that Mr. Leonard Kipchumba Cherop has been appointed to the new Crop Manager in charge of Floriculture effective April 2016.

He takes over this role from Anthony Songoro who has been promoted to head the marketing department.

Mr. Kipchumba joins the group with a wealth of experience in both crop protection and flowers. He began his career as a grower with Penta flowers limited where he rose to assistant manager position. He has also served in several other organizations including Syngenta East Africa where he successfully served as an area manager.

Bayer Cropscience is fortunate to have someone with his knowledge and experience and hopes he will go a long way in improving its service offer further to the industry.

 

Hortivation Cup 2016: Who Designs the Most Beautiful Sun Terrace? hortivation Instigates New Competition for Goods Presentation

Joining-In is Worthwhile: Winner Receives Professional POS Coaching hortivation by IPM ESSEN will take place for the first time at Messe Kalkar from June 13 to 15, 2016. The creative get-together will pick up trends which are foreign to the sector and will show how these can be used for the green sector in order to boost the sales of plants. As an important part of the comprehensive accompanying programme, the hortivation Cup will support the vision of the fair concept and is addressed to garden centres and specialised retailers. The new competition will not only present market-ready concepts for the point of sale but will also give the exhibitors and the visitors new stimuli in order to become actively involved in the innovation process in the green sector and to refine ideas.

"The Sun Terrace - Green Oasis in the City" will be the motto of the innovative competition for goods presentation. The Rhineland State Horticultural Association will be the organiser and the promoter and will be provided with its platform at hortivation. Garden centres and specialised retailers will be called upon to design a terrace covering an area of twelve square metres with goods from all their ranges. No limits will be set on creativity. It should be possible to adopt the presentations one to one for the point of sale. Furthermore, the terraces will serve the trade public as a source of inspiration for successful goods presentation. In addition to a knowledgeable jury, the visitors will be able to choose their favourite terraces during the period of the fair. The winner will be selected on the last day of the fair.

The Cup-winning team will be presented in the media and will receive a cash prize amounting to Euro 500 as well as a one-day in-house workshop. In this case, a coach will accompany the winner and will give helpful tips for successful goods presentation which will ensure a strong turnover. The terraces in the second and third places will win Euro 300 and Euro 200 respectively.

 

Hortivation Cup Online

Anybody who is curious can already obtain advance information about the participants in the Cup on the hortivation website. The teams are introduced in portraits and interviews. The winner’s success story as well as all the other results will be published in a comprehensive form after the fair. Therefore, all the participants will profit from the hortivation Cup beyond the period of the event, too.

 

Application Documents are Available for Downloading

Any specialised retail trade businesses which are organised in professional bodies will be entitled to participate with their decoration teams consisting of gardening or floristry specialists and trainees. The terraces will be set up in the period from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 12, 2016 or from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Monday, June 13, 2016. The detailed participation conditions as well as all the necessary application and registration documents can be retrieved from www.hortivation.de.