•Hotel keepers and caterers have been running a campaign on Valentine for the past four weeks.
•Chocolates, wines, and flowers were the most moving products, according to the Kenya National Alliance of Street Vendors and Informal Traders (KENASVIT).
City vendors have reported a booming business for the past two days, culminating with high spending during Monday’s Valentines' Day.
Equally, flower firms, hotels, and small businesses in Nairobi and major towns also reaped from the “lovers day”, as households defied the tough pandemic era economic times to treat their loved ones.
According to the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC), hotels have had a good uptake of valentine’s packages.
KAHC has been running a campaign on Valentine for the past four weeks.
“People (hotels) came up with very good and attractive packages which have been well received. There is good business and we expect to see reaction across all the 47 counties,” CEO Mike Macharia old the Star on the telephone.
In the SMEs sector, the traditional chocolates, wines, and flowers were the most moving products, according to the Kenya National Alliance of Street Vendors and Informal Traders (KENASVIT).
It is a national umbrella organization for street vendors, hawkers, and informal traders in Kenya.
National chairman Anthony Kwache said: “ The impact of Covid is still real but the fact that we have to paint the town red, products were availed and business has been good. It is better compared to last year.”
Flower exports also peaked in the last 48 hours as more carriers were cleared to increase frequencies, meaning good business for firms.
Earlier, the Kenya Flower Council (KFC) had raised concerns over the sharp rise in freight charges and fertilizer, with exports being affected by the lack of enough cargo freighters.
KFC chief executive Clement Tulezi had said freight charges had shot up by more than 300 percent, adversely affecting the exportation of flowers.
While demand stood at 5,000 tonnes per week, farmers could only manage to export 3,000 tonnes due to a lack of cargo planes.
“We are facing a major challenge in the export of flowers due to lack of cargo planes and this has pushed the freight cost from 1.9 dollars to 5.8 dollars per kilo,” he had said.
A number of airlines however increased their export capacity with clearance on frequencies by the Kenya Civil Aviation.
Qatar Airways was given five “additional ad-hoc flights” to freight the flowers from Kenya to Europe between late January and mid-February while Ethiopian Airlines was given 24 flights.
Meanwhile, households and individuals interviewed by the Star noted increased spending compared to last year.
“Last year things were a bit tricky but this year I am able to treat my loved one. At least I can afford dinner and a gift,” said Hillary Bett, a Nairobi resident.
Another city resident Morris Ouma said: “I have something to spend on my loved one despite tough Covid times.”
In a message, Qatar Airways yesterday said: “ That bunch of red roses that appears on your desk from an apparent “anonymous admirer”, those flowers you carefully select to take home to the special person at your side, the single-stemmed rose between the Flamenco Dancer’s teeth at a romantic, candle-lit dinner later that evening… There is a good chance these flowers were among the 60 million roses flown out of Ecuador, Colombia, and Kenya.”