LATAM Cargo has reported a 16 per cent increase in the transportation of Valentine’s Day flowers from Colombia and Ecuador this year compared to the 2022 season.

The carrier exported a total of 17,910 tons of flowers.

LATAM Group said the high demand for flowers prompted its cargo unit to double the usual frequency of flights from these countries, thus more than doubling the number of tons of flowers transported regularly to the North American market.

In preparation for the Valentine’s Day season, LATAM Cargo said it focused its efforts on providing the air capacity and frequencies needed by its clients, complemented with new cold storage facilities to “maintain the ideal temperature required for the flowers to reach their destination in optimal conditions”. Along with this, the company increased its staffing in Miami, the main arrival station for these flowers, “to ensure an agile and convenient delivery” for its clients.

LATAM Cargo’s international commercial director for South America Claudio Torres commented: “In 2022 we increased our fleet to 16 freighter aircraft, in addition to increasing our cold storage capacity in Colombia, which this season allowed us to strengthen our offer and thus provide greater transportation capacity for this Valentine’s Day. These results are a reflection of our efforts and collaborative work with our customers to create robust solutions that allow us to continue supporting the growth of the flower industry in Colombia and Ecuador.”

More than 300 take-offs from Quito, Bogota and Medellin took place during the Valentine’s Day season, from 18 January to 8 February, to transport flowers from these countries to North America, Europe and Oceania.

In Colombia, roses, carnations and chrysanthemums were the main flowers transported this year from the departments of Antioquia and Cundinamarca. The number of tons transported of this product grew by 11 per cent compared to last year, despite heavy rains affecting the production of the flower sector in the country.

In Ecuador, there was a 50 per cent increase this year, with more than 7,000 tons of flowers exported. Of these, 80 per cent were roses.