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FLOWERS are the main commodity handled at Quito’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport, where 92 per cent of exports are roses, carnations or chrysanthemums, reports Hamburg’s Cargo Forwarder Global.
The flower business has catapulted Ecuador to the top of the world’s largest producers and traders in the floristry sector, ranked third after Columbia and the Netherlands.
The growing global demand, surpassing meanwhile a volume of US$1 billion annually, has prompted freight carriers such as LATAM Cargo, Avianca, Emirates or DHL to up their capacity or newcomers to commence serving Quito Airport.
In cargo, Mariscal Sucre is ranked fifth among major airports in Latin America – company courtesy.
The flower boom is not without consequences. Quito is now the fifth largest airport in Latin America in terms of freight throughput, after Bogota, Colombia, Benito Juarez in Mexico City, Guarulhos, Brazil, and Santiago de Chile.
According to the International Council of Airports of Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC), in 2023, the volumes handled at Quito increased 14,12 per cent. It is the highest growth rate of all airports south of the Rio Grande bordering the USA and Mexico.
In total, 335,407 tons of cargo were moved, surpassing the 293,904 tons reached in 2022. With this achievement, Mariscal Sucre left behind well-known airports in the Latam hemisphere, such as Lima’s Jorge Chavez International, Ezeiza International in Buenos Aires, or Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro Galeao International.
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