Government and Policy

State Warns Buyers Against Transporting Avocadoes In Open Pick-Ups

BY Jane Muia · March 2, 2023 12:03 pm

KEY POINTS

Kenya is Africa’s top exporter of avocados and the sixth-largest exporter of fruit globally. The country accounts for 81.6 percent of EAC avocado fruit produce. The Hass variety which is the most grown variety in Kenya has generated a lot of interest in the export markets owing to its long shelf life and taste.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The key buyers for Kenyan avocados are the Netherlands, the United Arabs Emirates, France, Spain, Russia, and the United Kingdom, with China and Malaysia being the newest markets.

Buyers transporting avocadoes in open pick-ups will be arrested in the government’s latest move to ensure the sale of quality products.

Speaking during a sensitization forum in Murang’a County, director of horticultural crops directorate Benjamin Tito said transporting the fruit in open pick-ups breaches the crops and horticultural regulations of 2022 that provide that they should be well packaged in crates and transported in well-designed vehicles to maintain their quality.

“We are asking security officers to help us stop this trend by mounting roadblocks and arresting those found using pickups to transport the fruits,” said Tito.

He also addressed the growing concern of avocado theft which abets the harvesting of immature fruits that sometimes find their way to the international market.

Tito expressed fears that the country’s reputation would be ruined if the quality is compromised, resulting in the loss of international buyers hence poor earnings.

The key buyers for Kenyan avocados are the Netherlands, the United Arabs Emirates, France, Spain, Russia, and the United Kingdom, with China and Malaysia being the newest markets.

Since it entered the Chinese market last year, the fruit has been fetching better prices with a kilo going for about $8 (1,021.12 shillings) when compared to the $6 (765.84 shillings) offered by the traditional European market.

The fruit earned Kenya 7 Billion shillings in the three months to October last year exceeding the 6 billion shillings that were fetched in the first seven months of the year, signaling the high demand the fruit has generated in the Asian Market. Other countries including Korea and Italy have in the last years been seeking to buy Kenyan avocados owing to their high-fat content.

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