Kenya is the leading avocado-producing country in Africa, with suitable ecological conditions to grow the fruit and more than 150,000 avocado farmers, it accounts for nearly 50% of the continent's production. 

Christine Chesaro, the Director for the Horticultural Crops Directorate of the country's Agriculture and Food Authority spoke at the 2024 Territorio Aguacate in Medellin, Colombia about the country's export market and the challenges they are tackling to increase their share of exports around the world. 

Chesaro explained that production is distributed between 70% of small farmers, and the other 30% corresponds to large-scale farmers. Avocado production takes place in 42 out of the 47 counties in the country, and about 80% of the total production is consumed locally, while the remaining 20% is exported. 

Between 2018 and 2022, production grew from 317,000 tons to more than 632,000 tons, with Hass avocados representing 70% of total production. 

With two rain periods in the year, production extends from March to the end of October. 

"In 2023, we exported a record of 114,000 tons, which is a considerable increase from the 23,000 tons we exported in 2013," Chesaro said. 

The country's production has been increasing progressively in the last decade, with Europe representing its main export destination accounting for 63,000 tons of avocados which enter the continent through the Port of Rotterdam. 

"We are hoping that by the end of 2024, we will have increased our exports slightly from last year," Chesaro said. 

Other markets and expansion initiatives

Additionally from the EU, Kenyan avocado is also sent to the Middle East, China, the UK, and Asia. 

Chesaro detailed the initiatives taken by the government to improve the position of Kenya as an avocado origin, happening at three levels, farm, export, and stakeholders. 

"We are working with farmers, helping them to produce quality fruit, improving their transportation, and promoting organic farmers," Chesaro said. "Additionally, we are monitoring packhouses to make sure they meet the quality and food safety standards, and that all exported fruit come from registered and licensed packhouses."

At the export level, the authority makes sure all exporters are licensed and meet the demanding quality and food safety requirements of their markets, especially Europe. They even impose sanctions on exporters who are reported to send poor-quality fruit, putting a temporary hold on their export license until they fix the problem. 

Additionally, they are pushing for more exporters to participate in international exhibitions, mainly in European countries including Germany, Spain and Italy. 

The challenge of logistics

The main port in Kenya is the Port of Mombasa, located 400km away from Nairobi where the fruit is cleared for export, the fruit is transported by trucks. 

However, the country is working on a new dry port in Naivasha, located 550km from Mombasa. The project includes the construction of a rail system to reduce transit times. 

"This system would be more efficient, faster, and cheaper than using trucks, so we are working on the public and private side to finance this development," Chesaro said. 

Stakeholder Cooperation

The country has a National Horticulture Taskforce, composed of government officials and private leaders that address matters affecting the industry. 

"We also have associations that represent farmers and exporters, as well as engagement activities with stakeholders to address emerging issues," she said. 

The private sector is supporting infrastructure initiatives to transport all of the country's fresh produce by sea, as there is still a large percentage being transported by air. 

Challenges

In terms of the challenges faced by Kenyan growers and exporters, Chesaro explained standardizing the operation and traceability of small farmers remains a challenge, especially due to the access to quality planting material. 

Chesaro said that the fact that Colombia is coming up with one national brand, Avocados from Colombia is very positive for the industry, because Kenya lacks one united brand, as "we need to standardize our product because we still have many different brands under which our fruit is sold."

Inadequate cold chain facilities remain a challenge, especially in rural areas far from Nairobi.

"Fluctuating international prices are also a challenge, especially due to the logistical issues taking place in the region," Chesaro explained, referring to the Red Sea crisis which is forcing shipments to take a longer route around the Cape of Hope to reach the Port of Rotterdam. 

"Produce now leaves Mombasa and first travels to Oman, because the vessels in Mombasa are small, then in Salala, Oman, they are placed in larger vessels and taken around the Cape of Hope, finally arriving in Rotterdam where it is distributed to other countries," Chesaro explained. "Not being able to go through the Suez Canal has increased court shipping times by over 10 days, which has affected our quality and, therefore our returns."

New markets

As they wait for the situation in the Red Sea to normalize, Kenyan exporters are starting to look at new markets where they can send their fruit. 

"We are already in a lot of these markets, including the Middle East, but we are thinking we need to increase our volumes to China, and India. However, we still have a challenge in India because they charge us 30% tariffs, so exporters are not able to penetrate that market, so our government is already discussing this issue because we think India is a great market."

They are also looking at Malaysia, which they think will help them move some of their volume while the Red Sea crisis is sorted. 

As growers seek to expand their mark on the international scene, avocados are part of the national economic agenda, as one of the promoted commodities, while the government develops policies that support the production of avocados.

"We are working on investment for new quality seedlings, and collaborating with universities to research and identify solutions for pests & diseases, as we look to improve our infrastructure and the quality of our product to access new markets," Chesaro concluded. 

Related article: Territorio Aguacate 2024: Colombia's path to compete in the world stage and opportunities ahead