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According to Chief Executive Officer Export Promotion Council Peter Biwott, Chinese traders are actively scouting for new opportunities in the Kenyan market to get avocados/EPC

Agriculture

Kenyan avocado exports to China to increase 10pc annually, export council projects

According to Chief Executive Officer Export Promotion Council Peter Biwott, Chinese traders are actively scouting for new opportunities in the Kenyan market to get avocados/EPC

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 9 – Kenyan avocado exports to China are set to increase by 10 per cent annually over the next three years with the full implementation of a 2018 protocol on sanitary and phytosanitary.

According to Chief Executive Officer Export Promotion Council Peter Biwott, Chinese traders are actively scouting for new opportunities in the Kenyan market to get avocados.

“Chinese traders such as Shanghai Greenchain have set up an African office in Nairobi looking for opportunities and it has just been three months, and this is a market that is being developed,” said Biwott.

It is estimated that when the agreement is fully implemented, the Chinese market will take in more than 40 per cent of Kenya’s avocado produce, making it one of the largest importers of the fruit.

“Kenya is a manufacturing hub, and in order to ease business the two countries, then we should also consider learning Chinese so that we can break the language barrier likely to arise once this project finally kicks off,” he adds.

In May President Uhuru Kenyatta and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a trade deal that will see Kenyan farmers export avocados to China.

Currently, Kenya’s famous avocado destinations include Europe and USA.

On average a Chinese family consumes at least 3 avocados a day, which can be deduced to mean a market opportunity of about 4 billion pieces of avocado per day, at modest estimation, roughly translating to 1.5 billion annually.

The Price of avocado at current market prices is Sh290 per kilo which means that if every Chinese family buys a kilo, then it translates to Sh377 billion a day.

The arrangement is that the companies who are registered with China Customs department know the quality requirements from both Countries competent agencies and guides farmers on the same.

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The Supply will be made to the companies who prepare and package the Avocados and exports them to China where buyers have been identified through Kenya’s promotion activities such as the China International Export Import Expo November 2018.

New exporters under different cooperatives under the County Government guarantee scheme will sign buyer-seller contracts both locally and internationally through accredited exporting or importing companies.

This arrangement will ensure prompt payment of goods prices to farmers, increasing their incomes.

Kenya’s Avocado exports in 2017 were valued at USD 78 million and represented 38.9% and 1.3% of Africa and World exports’ respectively.

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