Facts about the horticulture industry
- African nations account for around 14% of UK imports of fruit and vegetables.
- It is more carbon efficient to import cut roses from Kenya than to grow them in heated greenhouses in Europe.
- The horticultural industry employs around 135,000 Kenyans directly and if dependents and others in the trade are factored, this amounts to over 1 million people.
- In 2005 the UK imported 20,700 tonnes of cut flowers from North and sub-Saharan Africa. These had a declared value of around £56million. Of these, the majority came from Kenya - 18,650 tonnes with a value of around £52million.
- Kenyan, fresh produce supplied to UK supermarkets generates at least £100m per year for Kenya.