September 12, 2017: Fresh dates have been announced for Flower Logistics Africa (FLA) and Perishable Logistics Africa (PLA) conferences. While FLA is rescheduled for November 22, PLA will take place on November 23. The changes have been necessitated by requests from several stakeholders on account of the presidential reelection in Kenya scheduled for October 17, which is very close to October 11 & 12, the original dates for FLA and PLA respectively. After taking into account various aspects and considering the potential vulnerabilities involved in the pre and post presidential reelection in Kenya, the organisers in consultation with sponsors and partners decided to postpone the events to November 22 and 23. There is no change in the venue. They will take place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Nairobi.

While FLA returns to the Kenyan capital city for its second edition, PLA makes its debut this year as a separate logistics conference, taking place at the same venue, for Africa’s perishable exporters.

With “Enhancing Africa’s flower power through better logistics” as the core theme for FLA 2017 and “Perishables: Creating Africa’s Future Logistics Grid” as the theme for the PLA 2017; the events have already garnered support from global organizations as key sponsors of the event.

Saudia Cargo, a global carrier in the air freight industry and a leading carrier of cut flower from African markets is the Platinum Sponsor of the events. With an extensive global network spanning four continents and 225 international destinations, Saudia Cargo operates a dedicated freighter fleet and offer ample belly capacity on its passenger flights across Asia, Africa, Europe and the USA.

Supporting the two events as the Diamond Sponsor is Holland Flower Alliance, a strategic alliance of Royal FloraHolland, KLM Cargo and Schiphol Airport – three important stakeholders in the global air cargo supply chain of flowers. These three strategic parties with over 300 years of combined experience in flower logistics are joining forces to make the Aalsmeer-Schiphol region the preferred flower hub of Europe.

The cargo division of Kenya’s national carrier Kenya Airways is the Gold Sponsor. Kenya Airways Cargo, the pride of Africa, has significant stake in uplifting perishable commodities produced in Kenya and has been a contributor to the sustainable development of Africa.

Africa’s only all-cargo carrier Astral Aviation is the Silver Sponsor along with its partner Network Aviation Group.

FLA 2017 has received industry support from Kenya Flower Council (KFC), Cool Chain Association (CCA), Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA), Union Fleurs – the international flower trade association, The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH). Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (KIFWA) and WCA Perishables.

The inaugural edition of PLA is supported by industry associations like CCA, KEPHIS, EHPEA, AIPH, KIFWA and WCA Perishables.

The two conferences are aimed to open dialogue and facilitate sharing of ideas, knowledge and practical solutions to improve logistics and supply chain performance of key perishable commodities exported from African countries. The two-day event, covering both flower and other cargo commodities like fruits, vegetable and meat, seeks to develop modern and cost efficient logistics and supply chain infrastructure within the African continent. FLA and PLA will bring under one roof global and regional providers of cold chain logistics, transport services and infrastructure, and will meet with Africa’s flower and perishable producers and shippers. The platform also provides participants to identify new opportunities that will allow African exporters to compete in global markets.

FLA 2017 will revisit some of the deliberations made last year to evaluate their progress besides aiming to enhance collaborative actions between growers and the rest of the stakeholders in the logistics value chain.

FLA and PLA will help participants connect with the right set of resources to understand and implement solutions that will optimize your supply chain. The event is specially curated with topics that matter to your industry and speakers who influence your business.

For more details of FLA please visit: www.logupdateafrica.com/fla2017

For more details of PLA please visit: www.logupdateafrica.com/pla2017

About the Organiser

Logistics Update Africa (LUA) is a bi-monthly magazine that brings the most credible news, views and stories of and from Africa about the continent’s evolving transport and logistics industries. LUA is one of the four publications from STAT Media Group, the earliest business to business trade publication in transport and logistics in the world. LUA gives an insight of the untapped potential of Africa’s economy and its unexplored and emerging markets that are eventually opening to the world. LUA reaches a dedicated readership of more than 10,000 industry professionals from air cargo, sea freight, rail & road transport industries within Africa and Europe. LUA is available online at www.logupdateafrica.com and it is updated regularly with the latest transport and logistics news from around the world.

You can read LUA online, visit: www.logupdateafrica.com

For further details contact:

Leon Dias: leon@logupdateafrica.com

Sangeeta Sundaram: sangeeta@logupdateafrica.com

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