NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 20 – Agricultural firm Kakuzi is in talks with a major Chinese importer of fresh produce as it seeks to double avocado exports to China.
The Publicly Listed Company is engaging with Dalian Yidu Group, a Chinese importer of fresh fruits and vegetables whose top executives were in Kenya last week.
Over the weekend, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed firm hosted a delegation from the Chinese firm at its Makuyu, Murang’a County, orchards, and packhouse.
Kakuzi Plc Managing Director Chris Flowers said the firm will enhance its exports to China once the harvest season opens late next month.
The company, he said, has invested heavily to ensure compliance with the stringent Chinese market demands, including tree-to-plate traceability protocols.
To sustain production, Kakuzi has also expanded its avocado orchards by a further 60 hectares, up from 927 hectares, at a cost of Sh120 million, to meet the ever-growing demand for quality superfoods globally.
“Kakuzi Plc is strategically positioned to provide quality superfoods for the local and export markets,” Flowers said.
“The visit by the team from Dalian Yidu underscores the importance of quality management systems as such buyers undertake rigorous evaluations to enable them to deliver nothing but the best to their discerning customers,” he added.
Dalian Yidu Group Business Executive Laura Xu said that the firm is looking forward to interacting with Kakuzi.
She confirmed that the Dalian Yidu delegation had been impressed by Kakuzi’s production and quality management processes, which aligned with the Chinese firm’s supply chain standards.
“Dalian Yidu is proud to be associated with a quality-conscious Kenyan grower such as Kakuzi, producing quality Hass Avocados which are in very high demand in China,” Xu said.
She added, “Dalian Yidu has been in the Chinese fresh fruit and vegetable import business since 1988 and has developed formidable international sourcing, cold-chain, and related logistical management structures for its fruit and vegetable business.”
Within an operating hub in the northeastern part of China, the Dalian Yidu Group has been importing fresh fruit since 1988.
It works with leading fruit suppliers from Chile, the U.S., South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and South Asia.
Since its foundation, the Yidu Group, Xu said, has become China’s leading fresh food supply chain manager, whose business scope covers logistics, finance, and trade.
The company has established a nationwide logistics network by utilizing major ports throughout China, including Dalian Port and the Shenyang Distribution Center in northeast China, Zhengzhou Airport and Distribution Center in central China, and Guangzhou Distribution Center in south China.
The firm’s infrastructure enables the Yidu Group to provide clients worldwide with swift, efficient, low-cost, one-stop cold-chain solutions.
