Fresh flower export season is upon us and with it brings two significant holidays: Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. To support the increasing demand for fresh flowers during this period, Latam Cargo deployed over 210 Cargo Boeing 767-300 freighters filled with fresh flowers (12,600 tons total) to aid in preparations and sales. This total confirms a 45 percent increase from last year marked by the company’s Colombia and Ecuador operations increase strategy.

The United States accounted for nearly 90 percent of flowers (11,300 tons) transported by the company as the top consumer, with a 45 percent increase in demand compared to last year’s Valentine’s holiday.

“In 2019 we decided to expand our cargo operations in Colombia and Ecuador to offer our customers enhanced frequency and capacity options,” said Felipe Caballero, LATAM Cargo Senior Revenue Manager for South America. “For the company, these Valentine’s Day figures are proof that our customers understand and value our commitment and effort to provide permanent and stable solutions for their shipments.”

As part of its extensive network consisting of 145+ global destinations, LATAM Cargo reported successful deliveries to customer markets in North America, Europe, Oceania, South America, and Asia. Among flowers seeing the highest demand totals, roses, mixed bouquets and carnations remained the top three big hits. Chrysanthemums, iris, gypsophila, and greenery also made the list, primarily in Bogota and Medellin in Colombia and from Quito in Ecuador.

“LATAM Cargo successfully completed a highly complex operation to maintain the freshness and shelflife of our customers’ flowers. This positive result comes at the same time as we introduce to the market our new perishable care, FRESH, which seeks to safeguard the freshness and shelflife of perishable products,” said Cristina Oñate, VP of Marketing and Product Development for LATAM Cargo. “FRESH is our stable and scalable approach to meeting this challenge, and offers a global standard of cold chain management for perishables across our LATAM network.”