ACD sees wilting flower trade
04 / 03 / 2015
World ACD says that the flower trade is playing a smaller role in world airfreight, in its latest long term data analysis.
While overall air cargo volume in 2014 was nine per cent up on 2012, and perishables in general by 23 per cent, flowers’ growth spurt was only 13 per cent.
“The role of flowers in the total perishables palette has diminished,” said the Netherlands-based consultancy.
Moreover, worldwide yields from the transport of flowers decreased faster than overall yields between 2012 and 2014: minus 10.2 per cent versus minus 5.2 per cent.
South America suffered a 13.5 per cent drop, although it still has the highest yields in the business. Europe lost only 0.1 per cent in yield in the same period, while North American-origin traffic truly bloomed: a volume increase of 12 per cent accompanied by a yield increase of 11.9 per cent.
Perhaps the market needs careful nurturing, ACD suggests. It noted that at a recent conference in South Africa that Amsterdam Schiphol urged the air cargo sector to develop answers to improvements in seafreight systems.
“Western Europe – being the main destination for flowers – stands to suffer most from a growth in flower markets lagging behind the general growth in perishables.”
Other destinations have meanwhile thrived, for example the Gulf Area with inbound growth of 57 per cent in two years.
