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Cut flowers get their sea legs |
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Tuesday, 12 August 2008 |
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Changes in storage technologies are driving a change from air to sea freight for cut flowers, according to Bangalore-based rose supplier Ramakrishna Karuturi, who is a major player in this US$30 billion a year industry.
(Sea freight) "has the potential to bring cargo costs down by at least 60 per cent -- and 40 per cent of a rose’s cost is freight," he said in an interview with the Australian newspaper.
Until recently, he said, flowers died quickly after being cut and so air was the only viable transport method.
Sea freight now has evolved to offer special refrigerated containers where temperature, humidity, and other factors can be remotely monitored, he said.
Karuturi also believes lower prices in the shops in the US, Europe and elsewhere will drive up demand.
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