Avocado is a fruit that is loved by many Kenyans. The creamy, delicious fruit is popular in Kenya for being the only fruit that goes well with any meal. Some Kenyans love to take it plain but a majority prefer mixing it with all kind of dishes preferably sukuma wiki (kale), githeri (mixture of beans and maize) or madondo (beans).
But this fruit is more than just a tasty side dish. It has turned out to be a valuable cash crop. Kenya has risen the ranks to become one of the world’s top producers of avocados.
In 2020, Kenya was the 10th largest avocado exporter in the world. It exported avocados worth 116.23 million dollars.
Kenya has retained its position as the largest avocado exporting country from Africa for the last ten years. Kenya has now overtaken South Africa to become Africa’s biggest avocado producer. Last year, Kenya topped Africa’s avocado export. But this represents only 10% of its total avocado production.
Avocado Exports from Kenya
Avocado is one of the world’s trendiest foods. The rise and rise of avocado has been extraordinary. The healthy nature and many uses of avocados has led to a strong consumer demand for avocados.
Avocado is now seen as a ‘superfood.’ It is because it contains a variety of essential nutrients that support health and well-being. The avocado is one of the most nutrient-dense foods available.
More and more people are getting aware of the health benefits of avocado. Multiple studies have linked consumption of the fruit to healthier diets. Health-conscious consumers are eating avocados like never before.
The Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) says the rising global demand for avocados is pushing a rise in avocado production in Kenya. In 2023, Kenya shipped 123,000 metric tonnes of avocado out of the country. This is a big jump from 103,000 metric tonnes exported in 2022.
There has been strong growth in the export of the fruit. In 2010, Kenya exported only 20,000 metric tonnes of avocado. But since 2017, there has been an increase of about 10,000 metric tonnes every year. Kenya is now one of the leading avocado producers in the world.
Kenya earned Sh18 billion from avocado exports in 2023. This is a jump from Sh16 billion in 2022.
Kenya exported 26,481 tonnes of avocado between January and March of last year. This is a jump from 15,101 tonnes between the same period in 2020.
The Horticultural Crops Directorate (HCD) says the value of Kenya’s avocado exports in the first quarter of last year is Sh4.26 billion.
The exports of avocado from Kenya hit 60,511 metric tonnes in the first six months of 2021. HCD says it is a climb from 46,707 metric tonnes during a similar period in 2020. Kenya brought in Sh9.9 billion in the first half of 2021 from the export of avocados.
Avocado Production in Kenya
The first time avocados were exported from Kenya was in 1970. 23 tonnes of avocado were exported to Europe. In the 1980s, exports of Fuerte and Hass varieties grew to 1,051 tonnes. Since then, there has been widespread growing and exports of avocados in Kenya.
Avocados from Kenya
What makes avocado a versatile fruit is that people of all ages can enjoy it. There are many ways to eat the avocado. Avocados popular in Kenya are either green-skin or dark-skin. They are enjoyed:
- Sliced on salads
- Spread on bread
- Blended into smoothies
- As a topping with any meal
- Just plain and fresh
The world is in love with Kenyan avocados. This is because avocado is Kenya’s leading fruit export. It represents 17% of the total horticultural exports from Kenya.
Avocados are on the march. For some they are a superfood and lifestyle product and for others they are a product that is bringing in money. Avocado is changing the fortunes of exporters in Kenya.
Locally, avocado is the fourth most important fruit crop after banana, mango and pineapple. In 2017, the value of the domestic avocado market was Sh5.4 billion.
Avocado Supply Chain in Kenya
70% of avocados grown in Kenya is done by small holder farmers. These farms have 5-20 trees per homestead. 20% of Kenyan avocados are produced by medium scale farmers who have over 100 trees. 10% is from commercial plantations in Kenya which have at least 10 hectares under avocado production.
As it turns out, there is a lot more going on apart from picking avocados from trees and loading them onto trucks. Avocados are a delicate fruit and the processing has to begin shortly after they leave the tree. Here are the things you need to know about the avocado supply chain in Kenya:
- Farmers who aren’t linked to exporters through an out-grower scheme market their avocados through middlemen. These middlemen are either legally government-certified agents or just brokers. They typically harvest avocados themselves and organize transport to pack houses in Nairobi.
- The initial leg of transportation is usually done by small pickup trucks.
- At the pack house or export facility, avocados go through value addition and quality checks such as:
- Sorting
- Cleaning
- Grading
- Pre-cooling
- Waxing
- Storage
- Packaging in cartons
- Once packed, exporters stuff the cartons into refrigerated containers (reefers) outside the processing gate.
- Shipping companies then transport the refrigerated containers to the port of Mombasa.
- The reefers, which are treated and controlled atmosphere storage, are loaded onto a ship and later transported via sea to the port of Salalah in Oman.
- Finally, the refrigerated containers are unloaded in Europe and delivered to importers.
Avocado Supply Chain Issues in Kenya
Avocados may mature on the tree but they will not ripen there. They must be picked so that they can develop their creamy taste and texture. This is a huge factor in the avocado supply chain in Kenya.
The amount of time it takes to ripen can vary from days to weeks. This depends on:
- The degree of maturity before they are plucked from the tree
- Storage temperature
- The variety of avocado
Climate can have a major impact on supply. Avocado trees need specific amounts of sunshine and rainfall to produce perfect avocados. Kenya is one of the few places that avocados can grow throughout the year. This is because Kenya enjoys a tropical climate.
Keeping avocados fresh until they reach either the export or domestic market is important to the supply of avocados. Avocados require a cold chain to deliver desirable ripeness at the market.
The avocado prefers a refrigerated container kept at 1°C while being transported via land, air or sea. The temperatures should also not be too cold or else the avocados will shrink.
If not cooled, avocados ripen faster than the time it takes to ship them to Europe. Exports to Europe were only possible through expensive air shipments. Avocados transported by sea only reached the Middle East since it is closer to Kenya. The downside is that they sell for much less than in Europe.
But government-led infrastructure investments and private sector investments in refrigerated containers has helped to reduce transport costs
Exposing avocados to too much sunlight can cause them to over-ripen and rot. Moving avocados requires careful attention to transportation and warehousing to keep consumers happy and reduce waste.
Transporting avocados from the farm to the pack house is often done using small open pick-up trucks. This mode of transport results in about 5% food loss due to sun exposure on the top layer of fruit and spillage.
When sourcing directly from farmers, exporters have now introduced covered trucks to transport the avocados from the farm to the pack house.
Exporters have also addressed this issue by setting up shaded collection points. Another solution is through small scale farmers forming cooperatives so as to access capital to buy their own covered trucks.
Apart from introducing collection sheds, exporters have supported farmers groups by investing in offices, hygiene facilities and first aid boxes. These are requirements for a Global G.A.P. certification.
More exporters are planning to invest in additional groups so as to their volume of Global G.A.P certified avocados. This will enable exporters tap into the rising demand for avocados in the European market.
Avocado Export Business in Kenya
The main harvest season of avocados in Kenya is between March and September. Small volumes of avocado are also harvested between October and February. The Hass variety which is in high demand in the export market is available from March. The Fuerte variety is available from February.
But regardless of who is growing avocados in Kenya, what makes them important to Kenya’s economy is their export potential. Hass avocados are sold to Kenyan consumers and those in Europe and the Middle East. These markets are lucrative but competition from Mexico, Peru and Chile is fierce.
Avocado industry players in Kenya say the growth potential for avocado exports may lie elsewhere. In 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Chinese president Xi Jinping signed a trade deal that allowed export of frozen avocado to China.
Since the agreement came with tight measures, most of the farmers have been unable to meet them. In 2020, Kenya was only able to ship one container of ripe frozen avocados to China.
But this year, Kenya and China have signed a new trade agreement with better terms. The two countries will establish a working group which will interrogate issues of trade barriers and fast track increase in avocado exports from Kenya to China.
The Chinese market will take in more than 40% of Kenya’s avocado produce, making it one of the largest importers of the fruit.
Avocado exporters in Kenya mostly package a 4kg carton of avocados at a cost of about US4.10 dollars. An additional US1.6 dollars per carton is required for shipping to Europe by sea in a refrigerated container. The import price shifts between US7-8 dollars per carton
Here is one of the top avocado exporters in Kenya.
Freshela Exporters
Freshela is a Kenyan based company that engages in the sourcing, processing and exporting of avocados and other fresh produce such as mango, pineapple, banana, vegetables and herbs.
Freshela is a proud exporter of Kenyan avocados. Our avocados are organically grown in the most ideal climatic conditions in Kenya.
We source avocados from our company farms and partner farms. Our partner farmers are proud and happy working with us.
Our avocados are cultivated with uncompromising dedication to excellence and freshness. We guarantee optimum maturity of avocados.
We give competitive pricing to our customers.
We use a modern grading machine to achieve desired avocado weight. The fruit is also graded to eliminate any with physical quality defects.
We pack avocado fruit in 4kg cartons for both air and sea freights. We use dry wooden pallets to pack the cartons. Each pallet for sea freight takes 276 cartons while each pallet for air freight takes 144 cartons.
All of our avocado packing is approved by FDA and is certified by HACCP Quality Assurance.
The avocados in our pack house go through accurate machine selection. The avocados are classified according to dry meter, size, colour and external skin defects.
After packing, we pre-cool our avocados to 5°C in our cold rooms. This reduces field heat immediately after packing.
This process conserves the weight of our avocados preventing them from softening, water loss and wilting. Long shelf life is guaranteed because our avocados stay fresh throughout the supply chain. Our customers are happy because of the high quality of avocado we deliver.
The pre-cooling process is in preparation for shipping. We maintain the cold temperatures and achieve consistent preservation by loading close to the cold rooms.
Our trained staff properly seal the refrigerated containers. Our quality assurance team then confirms before the containers leave the pack house. The avocados are now ready for export.
We ship in controlled atmosphere (CA) refrigerated containers (reefer.) We ship Kenyan avocados to Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
By working directly with avocado growers and cooperatives, we are able to deliver our produce within a short lead time. We believe that growers grow and exporters export. That is how our growers are able to do what they do best and in return we guarantee superior, quality produce.