The event was meant to showcase Kenyan floriculture to US buyers directly, cutting out European intermediaries and expanding Kenya's global footprint. IFTEX Organizer Dick van Raamsdonk noted that visa acquisition issues and the rising costs due to protectionist policies made it near impossible to hold the exhibition.

　　Kenya's Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has urged florists to diversify and tap into over 60 export destinations amid the challenges posed by US tariffs.

　　Kagwe noted that the sector that has created over 200,000 direct jobs and supports over a million livelihoods has made an impact in most rural communities where productive economic opportunities are limited.

　　Speaking at the opening of the IFTEX in Nairobi, Kagwe emphasized Kenya's global standing in the flower business, noting that the country is the third-largest exporter of cut flowers worldwide.

　　However, he pointed out that success cannot last forever as the world is changing rapidly.

　　“All this time while the end-consumers and regulators place more onerous compliance demands on us, we must, therefore, do more, go farther, with much less,“ he said.

　　The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.