For some industries, Christmas or New Year’s celebrations are the busiest times of year.But for Kenya’s flower growers, the biggest holiday is Valentine’s Day.
对很多行业来说，圣诞节或者新年节庆都是一年最忙的时候。但对于肯尼亚的花农来说，最大的节日却是情人节。

Workers in the city of Navaisha, the center of Kenya’s flower industry, are busy cutting, packing, and cooling roses.
纳瓦沙市是肯尼亚花卉产业的中心，这里的花农们正忙着切割、包装以及冷却花卉。 

Flower workers are celebrating something else, too: a plan for direct flights from Nairobi to New York City beginning next October.The move would create a possibility for the Kenyan flower industry to sell more in the American market.
花农们确实也在庆祝一件事：明年十月开始从内罗毕直飞纽约的计划。此举能为肯尼亚的花卉产业创造条件，提升其在美国市场的销售额。

Right now, South American exporters dominate the U.S. market.
目前是南美的出口商控制着美国市场。 

Jane Ngige is the outgoing chief of the Kenya Flower Council.
简·吉格是肯尼亚花卉协会一位十分健谈的负责人。 

What we’re looking at is an opportunity to diversify our markets to the American marketand we’re also looking not to compete with the South Americans,who are the main producers or the main suppliers of flowers to North America, but to look at complementing the product.Because our products are very different.
我们关注的点是：寻找机会让我们的市场更加多样化，以打入美国市场。我们也不打算与南美的出口商竞争，毕竟他们是北美花卉市场的主要生产商或者说主要供应商。我们的目标是补充产品类型，因为我们的花卉产品很与众不同。

Kenya’s roses, for example, have smaller heads than those grown in Colombia.
比如，肯尼亚的玫瑰的花头就比哥伦比亚的更小。 

Industry experts believe Kenyan growers can offer different types of flowers and lower production costs.
很多行业专家认为，肯尼亚的花农提供的花卉，种类新鲜，成本更低。 

Kenya is currently the fourth-largest exporter of cut flowers.Most of its flowers go to Europe, Australia, and Japan.It does not sell as many cut flowers to the United States because the cost of an air freight stopover in Europe is costly.
肯尼亚目前是切花的第四大出口国。其大多数花卉都出口到了欧洲、澳大利亚和日本。肯尼亚向美国出口的切花不是很多，因为在欧洲中转的航空运费十分高昂。

Jonathan Ralling is with Flamingo Horticulture Kenya.He says that the Kenyan flower industry’s success in America will depend partlyon how much freight space is available on planes making the planned nonstop flights.
乔纳森·拉林是肯尼亚火烈鸟园艺的工作人员。他表示，肯尼亚花卉产业在美国是否能成功将部分取决于非中转航班的飞机上有多少舱位。

For most of the year, Kenya’s flower industry directly employs about 100,000 workers.But the Flower Council says other services and products create another 400,000 jobs.In total, the industry provides livelihoods for about 2 million people.
一年中的大部分时候，肯尼亚的花卉产业都直接雇佣了近10万名花农。但肯尼亚花卉协会表示，其他的服务合产品也需要40万个工作岗位。总体来算，花卉产业为近200万人提供了营生的来源。

And with better access to the U.S. market, Kenya’s flower industry can only grow.
而一旦肯尼亚可以更好地打入美国市场，那么肯尼亚的花卉产业也可以随之增长。

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.
凯莉·让·凯莉为您播报。