How Kenyan flower pricing works — and why the price you found is probably the wrong one
Search for Kenyan flower prices and you will find numbers. Most of them answer a different question from the one you asked, because at least five distinct prices exist for the same stem and they are routinely quoted as though they were interchangeable. This page sets out what those levels are, what actually moves a price, and why freight matters more on this lane than the flowers do. It publishes no price, and explains why.
Five prices for the same stem
Presenting one level as another is the most common and most damaging error in this subject — and it is everywhere.
| Level | What it means | Who quotes it |
|---|---|---|
| Farm-gate | Paid to the grower, at the farm | The grower |
| FOB export, Nairobi | Packed, documented, delivered to the aircraft. Excludes air freight | Exporter or merchant |
| Landed / CIF | FOB plus freight and insurance, plus duty, tax and clearance depending on the term agreed | Importer |
| Wholesale at destination | Importer or wholesaler selling on to florists | Wholesaler |
| Retail | The consumer price | Retailer |
The gap between the top and bottom of that table is not a margin — it is a different question being answered. A farm-gate figure tells you nothing about what you will pay landed; a retail figure tells you nothing about either.
The step from FOB to landed is the one that hides the most. It carries freight, which on this lane is large, and it carries the statutory charges at both borders, which are small individually but built three different ways — and one of them rises as your specification improves. What the border actually costs, and why no total appears, is set out separately.
And there is a specific trap on this subject. Searches for Kenyan flower prices return results that are overwhelmingly domestic Kenyan retail — florists selling bouquets in Nairobi. Those numbers are real, and they have nothing whatever to do with an export quotation. If a price is quoted in Kenyan shillings for a bouquet, you are reading the wrong market.
What actually moves an export price
| Driver | Effect |
|---|---|
| Stem length | Longer costs more — the ladder runs 40 to 80 cm |
| Head size | The primary premium driver after length, tiered from around 3.5 cm |
| Variety | Premium varieties command more |
| Season | Valentine's commands the highest prices of the year — on the least forgiving deadline |
| Box economics | Price per stem depends on stems per box, which depends on length and head size |
| Freight | See below. On this lane it is the dominant term |
| Destination | Unit values differ materially by market |
Stem length and head size are the two you can control, and they are the two that make quotations comparable. What those specifications actually mean is set out here.
The part almost nobody explains: freight can rival the flowers
This is the most important thing on the page, and it reframes the whole comparison.
Here is the arithmetic, with the grade of each input shown, so you can judge it rather than take it.
| Input | Figure | How solid is it? |
|---|---|---|
| Kenyan FOB export average, all flowers | USD 4.10 per kg | Derived from UN Comtrade 2024 — total export value divided by tonnage. Solid, but it is an average across every flower type and grade |
| Air freight, one observed lane (Nairobi to Dubai) | USD 2.50–3.50 per kg | A single commercial source, one lane, one date. Not verified |
| Implied freight share of goods value | roughly 60–85% | Only as good as the freight figure above |
Treat the percentage as an order of magnitude, not a measurement. What survives the uncertainty is the shape of it: on a Kenyan lane, moving the flowers costs something approaching what the flowers cost.
The consequence is a reframing worth carrying into every comparison you make. A buyer weighing Kenya against a closer origin is, to a large degree, comparing freight economics rather than flower prices. That is why Colombia dominates the United States and why Kenya leads into Europe and the Gulf — the origin comparison sets that out — and it is why the box, not the stem count, drives so much of a quotation. That mechanism is explained here.
Why there is no price on this site
Because a single published price for "Kenyan roses" would be misleading in almost every combination it could be read against. A quotation depends on specification, volume, frequency, destination and season, and changing any one of them changes the answer.
We should be straightforward about the market context rather than pretending it does not exist. Marketplaces such as Daoflowers, M-Flowers and Flora Market do publish live prices, and buyers will and should compare. Our position is not that published prices are wrong — it is that a price without a specification, an origin and a delivery term attached is not a price you can act on, and the figures circulating for "Kenyan flowers" mix farm-gate, marketplace, landed and retail levels without labelling which is which.
Where a price is requested here, the honest answer is that it is available on a quotation basis — and the pages above exist so that the quotation you receive is one you can interrogate.
What to ask so the numbers mean something
- Which level is this price? Farm-gate, FOB, landed, or wholesale. If the answer is vague, nothing that follows is comparable.
- What is included, and under which term? Incoterms decide where cost and risk stop, and they are not the same point.
- What specification is it priced against? Stem length, head size, stems per bunch, stems per box, cutting stage.
- Is freight in or out? On this lane that single question can move the comparison more than the flower price does.
- What season does it assume? A February number and a July number are not describing the same market.
Why no figure on this page is a price
This site publishes no price list, no indicative prices and no "from USD X per stem". The two figures that appear above — a Comtrade-derived export average and a single reported freight rate — are shown only to demonstrate the relationship between freight and goods value, with the strength of each stated. The freight figure is one commercial source on one lane on one date and is not verified. Neither figure is an offer, a quotation, or a price anyone should plan against. Competitor and marketplace prices, where mentioned, are theirs and are not restated here as ours.
Ready to specify a requirement?
If you can state the product, stem length, head size, quantity, frequency and destination, we can give you a useful answer. If you cannot yet, say so on the form — every technical field has an “I don’t know yet, please advise” option.
Questions buyers ask about pricing
Why can't you publish a price for Kenyan roses?
Because a single number would be misleading in almost every situation it could be read against. A quotation depends on specification, volume, frequency, destination and season — change any one and the answer changes. It would also be dishonest in a specific way: most figures circulating for "Kenyan flowers" mix farm-gate, marketplace, landed and retail levels without saying which, and adding another unlabelled number to that pile would not help you.
I found Kenyan flower prices online. Why don't they match export quotations?
Most likely because they are domestic Kenyan retail — florists selling bouquets in Nairobi. Those searches are heavily contaminated with consumer pricing that has nothing to do with export supply. If the price is in Kenyan shillings for a bouquet, you are reading the wrong market. There are at least five distinct price levels for the same stem, and they are routinely quoted as though interchangeable.
How much of the cost is actually freight?
Enough to change which question you are really asking. A Comtrade-derived Kenyan export average of about USD 4.10/kg against a reported USD 2.50–3.50/kg air freight rate on one observed lane implies freight at roughly 60–85% of goods value. Treat that as an order of magnitude — the freight figure is a single unverified commercial source. What holds regardless is that moving the flowers costs something approaching what the flowers cost, so comparing Kenya with a closer origin is largely comparing freight economics.
Marketplaces publish live prices. Why don't you?
They do, and buyers should compare. Our position is not that those prices are wrong. It is that a price without a specification, an origin and a delivery term attached is not one you can act on — and a marketplace line rarely separates origin and specification clearly enough to be compared with a quotation. Where a price is requested here, it is available on a quotation basis, against a stated specification.
What is the single most useful question to ask about a price?
"Which level is this, and is freight in or out?" Those two answers determine whether any further comparison is meaningful. After that, ask what specification it is priced against — because on this trade, stem length and head size move the number more than anything else you control.
Last verified 25 September 2026
Sources
-
UN Comtrade — Kenya cut flower exports, 2024
What we read
The FOB export average of approximately USD 4.10 per kg, derived by dividing total export value by tonnage. An average across all flower types and grades, not a rate for any specific product
-
Reported air freight rate, Nairobi to Dubai
What we read
USD 2.50–3.50 per kg, reported by a commercial freight provider in October 2025. NOT VERIFIED and not confirmed against a carrier. Used on this page only to illustrate the relationship between freight and goods value, with that limitation stated