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Emirates SkyCargo reported the top five commodities flown on its aircraft for Valentine's Day.
In a statement, it said ahead of the February 14 holiday, flowers, chocolates, high-end perfumes, watches and jewellery as well as electronic gadgets were top commodities shipped.
"Emirates SkyCargo is an important facilitator of cross-border trade and commerce across the world. However, on a more individual level, we also play a role in spreading joy in people’s lives. During the two or three weeks leading up to Valentine's we always see a sharp increase in the transport of popular gifts for Valentine’s Day such as flowers, perfumes and chocolates," said Dennis Lister, Emirates VP Cargo Commercial Development.
Emirates SkyCargo noted that flowers, roses in particular, are by far the most popular gift for Valentine's Day and in January more than 3,000 tonnes of flowers were flown by Emirates SkyCargo, freshly harvested from farms in Kenya, Ecuador, Colombia, Ethiopia and multiple other countries.
It said most of the flowers are first flown to the Netherlands, home to the world's largest flower auction market, before being redistributed to other markets globally.
Emirates noted that chocolates are also popular gift options and in 2021, Emirates SkyCargo transported more than 150 tonnes of premium chocolate around the world during the months of January and February with a sharp surge during the week before Valentine's Day.
It said Brussels, Zurich and Düsseldorf are the main European points where chocolates are loaded on Emirates' flights ahead of Valentine's Day. Along with Beirut, a major exporter of chocolates catering to markets in the Middle East.
Between mid-January and early- February there is also "marked increase" in the volume of high-end watches and other accessories that are shipped on Emirates’ flights. Zurich, Geneva and Hong Kong are the main points of origin for watches that are then distributed to the rest of the world.
Last year, Emirates SkyCargo transported more than 1,200 tonnes of high end watches in January and February.
Emirates said over the last week of January alone, it moved more than 200 tonnes of high-end perfumes from cities in France, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands to the rest of the world, just in time to stock retail shelves ahead of Valentine's Day.
"Last but not the least electronic gadgets and especially items such as mobile phones are also in high demand as gift items for Valentine's Day with shipments witnessing a rush in the last few days to Valentine’s Day," Emirates SkyCargo added.
In the two week period leading up to Valentine's Day, the freight carrier said it flew more than 1,500 tonnes of electronic gadgets from manufacturing destinations in Asia to consumer markets across the world.
