Hidden challenges of moving cuttings: Up on Stage with Virginia Gitonga of Selecta one

During Flower Logistics Africa 2025, Virginia Gitonga, General Manager of Selecta one Kenya, took to the stage for a one-on-one interview with Libin Chacko Kurian of STAT Media Group that shed light on one of the most delicate and least understood aspects of the flower supply chain—cuttings logistics.

Unlike flowers, cuttings are soft, fragile pieces of young plants, essential to pot and bedding plant production across Europe and other global markets. With a shelf life of just three to four days and extreme sensitivity to temperature, humidity, and handling, their successful transportation demands flawless logistics.

In the conversation, Virginia explained why Kenya is a preferred production hub for cuttings—offering skilled labour, an adaptable climate, and the ability to support massive volumes, often reaching over 8 million cuttings per hectare. However, despite Kenya’s production strengths, challenges arise at every turn in the supply chain—from pre-cooling and packaging at the farm to delays at airports, offloading risks, and capacity constraints during peak seasons like Valentine's Day. Virginia also emphasised the overlooked value of these small boxes. Though compact, they carry high-value goods whose failure in transit has ripple effects far beyond a refund—it jeopardises entire crops and businesses.

Her message to logistics partners was clear: handle cuttings not just as cargo, but as living material whose success is rooted in precision, care, and on-time delivery.

As Kenya becomes an even more central player in this space, Virginia’s insights offer both a wake-up call and a roadmap for the industry’s future.

Watch this conversation to understand why getting cuttings logistics right is more than just a supply chain challenge—it's a matter of preserving growth itself.