Minister Urges Brits To Buy Kenyan Roses For Valentines Day

Wed, 13 Feb 2008

A British minister has urged romantics to buy their Valentines Day roses from Kenya in an effort to support the troubled east African country.

Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, said buying Kenyan roses would help farmers in the country who are struggling to do business due to the on-going violence that erupted following the disputed presidential election in December.

Alexander also stressed that flowers produced in Kenya require less energy to produce compared to those from other countries as they are grown in heated greenhouses .

However, the minister’s comments were immediately challenged by critics who said people would do better to buy local or organic, and preferably not buy roses at all because they are not in season in Britain .

Rose growers argued that the Government should not be encouraging people to buy roses from Africa when it was constantly reminding people of their duty to reduce their carbon footprint .

According to the Department for International Development (DFID), roses make up more than 70 per cent of Kenya's flower exports, making Valentine’s Day a major pay-day for Kenyan flower growers. Sales of flowers on February 14, along with Mothers Day, help exporters earn more than the rest of the year’s sales combined.

Almost one third of Britain’s imported cut flowers are supplied from Kenya . The country brings in more than 250 million dollars to the economy each year through horticulture - making it the country’s second-largest foreign exchange earner, the DFID added.
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