• Mother’s Day flower demand drove a sharp seasonal increase in global airfreight activity in late April, with WorldACD reporting a 19 percent surge in shipments from Central and South America as flowers from Colombia and Ecuador moved to markets in North America and Europe.
• The flower trade remains one of the most time-sensitive segments in air cargo, with operators such as FedEx moving millions of pounds of flowers within narrow 48 to 72-hour delivery windows, while rising demand continues to place pressure on global cargo capacity and freight rates.
• Despite seasonal capacity increases, geopolitical disruption in the Middle East continued to constrain the wider air cargo market, contributing to significantly higher freight rates year-on-year, while the flower industry itself remains economically critical in Colombia, where it supports around 240,000 jobs, many held by women and single mothers.

For most people, Mother’s Day arrives with flowers on the table, a small gesture that has become a familiar tradition to many families. Days earlier, those same flowers were still in the ground, cut at first light on farms thousands of kilometres away, moving through cold rooms, cargo holds and night flights

In the weeks before 10 May, millions of freshly cut flowers began a journey from farms in Colombia and Ecuador to homes across the United States, Europe and beyond, when something as simple as a bouquet became powerful enough to move global markets.

In the final full week of April, that seasonal surge once again made itself felt. According to WorldACD Market Data, global air cargo volumes increased by 3 percent week-on-week between 20 and 26 April, with Central and South America driving much of that growth. Shipments from the region surged by 19 percent, largely fuelled by flower exports from Colombia and Ecuador destined for North American markets ahead of Mother’s Day.

The spike reflected a structural pattern in the flower trade, where demand is compressed into narrow seasonal windows that place intense pressure on logistics networks. Data from the Colombian Association of Flower Exporters (Asocolflores), cited by Agronegocios, shows that Mother’s Day accounts for around 15 percent of annual flower sales. With Colombia alone generating approximately US$2.4 billion in flower exports in 2025, the scale of that seasonal push is significant.

Flowers are among the most time-sensitive commodities in air cargo, requiring rapid handling from farm to final destination. As an example, FedEx expects to transport around 2.7 million pounds of flowers from Colombia and Ecuador during the Mother’s Day season, an 18 percent increase year-on-year, with shipments moving within a 48 to 72-hour delivery window.

“The industry understands that it’s not just transporting a flower, but rather emotions and feelings. In Valentine’s Day 2026, around 2.2 million pounds were transported throughout the holiday, which lasted two full weeks, from Ecuador and Colombia,” said Anggy Mier, global sales manager for the Southern Cone at FedEx, as quoted by Agronegocios.

WorldACD data shows that global air cargo capacity increased modestly in week 17, with an 8 percent week-on-week rise from Central and South America markets, reflecting the additional lift required for flower exports. Capacity also edged up in other regions, including Europe (+5 percent) and the Middle East and South Asia (+3 percent).

However, these gains only partially offset a broader contraction in available capacity linked to geopolitical disruption. Compared with pre-conflict levels earlier in the year, global capacity remained 3 percent lower. The impact was particularly acute in the Middle East and South Asia region, where capacity was down 26 percent, including a 46 percent drop in the Gulf. Air cargo rates continued to climb in late April, albeit at a slower pace than in the immediate aftermath of the Middle East conflict. WorldACD figures show that global spot rates rose by a further 2 percent week-on-week to US$3.76 per kilo, while full-market rates increased by 1 percent to US$3.19 per kilo.

On a year-on-year basis, the increases are far more pronounced. Full-market rates are up around 30 percent, while spot rates have surged by approximately 45 percent, reflecting sustained pressure on capacity and rising operating costs, including jet fuel.

In some corridors, the escalation has been even sharper. Spot rates from the Middle East and South Asia to Europe remain around 73 percent higher than a year ago, while rates from Dubai to the US have risen by more than 160 percent, according to WorldACD.

According to Asocolflores, in Colombia alone, the industry supports around 240,000 jobs with women making up 60 percent of the workforce, and more than half of them single mothers. Behind each shipment is not only a supply chain, but a labour-intensive industry where timing and demand directly affect livelihoods.

“Female population is the heart of the industry. We are committed to being the voice of these women who work in and derive their livelihood from this sector,” said Laura Valdivieso, president of Asocolflores.

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