Overview of Avocado Oil Market in Kenya

Kenya produces between 250,000-300,000 metric tonnes of avocados annually. Yet 40% of avocados harvested are not sellable and often go to waste. This means lost income for avocado farmers.

Although avocados are mostly consumed fresh, there has been an increase in the use of avocado-based products such as oil. Avocado farmers in Kenya who have poor access to markets can extract oil from ripe fruits. Farmers can prevent wastage of avocados that are not sellable by making oil from them.

How is Avocado Oil Extracted?

There are different ways to produce avocado oil.

The mechanical method has been used traditionally where drying facilities or solvent extraction units can’t be installed. This process has poor yields and mostly uses chemicals.

• Avocado oil is extracted by peeling and destoning the fruit.
• The pulp is mashed and dried.
• The paste is then heated with hot water containing chalk or sodium chloride.
• The paste is pressed so that the oil can be skimmed off by natural decantation.
• This method yields 60-80% avocado oil depending on the fruit variety.

Organic solvent extraction is the most common method.

• The pulp is dried by warm air.
• A hexane solvent is used to extract the oil.
• This method yields 95% avocado oil.
• The resulting oil is brownish with a high pigment content which needs to be refined for most applications.

Refining consists of three steps:

1. Deacidification to remove free fatty acids which are less than 1% in good quality fruits.
2. Bleaching to remove chlorophylls and their degradation products
3. De-oduorisation

Avocado Oil Extraction Process in Kenya

Avocado oil like olive oil is extracted from the fruit pulp. This method is known as the cold-pressed extraction method. Kenya produces avocado oil that is high quality and edible.

1. After harvesting, the avocados are taken to the avocado oil processing plant where they are carefully sorted and weighed.
2. The avocados are then washed by immersion and showering through a jet system.
3. Afterwards, they are pitted and peeled since its only the pulp being pressed.
4. The pulp is separated from the oil in a centrifuge process. It’s a drum that spins at high speeds which forces both oil and water out of the pulp.
5. Because the resulting oil is less dense than water, it rests on the water and flows out through strategic holes in the drum.
6. What comes out is unrefined avocado oil which is slightly thick and green.

About 80 ripe whole avocado fruits make up a one liter of avocado oil. The cold-pressing extraction method compared with traditional methods yields an oil with:

• Higher pigment levels
• Stronger flavor
• Higher health benefits

Avocado Oil Extraction Machine in Kenya

The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) has made a cheap manual pressing machine to extract oil from ripe avocados.

• The farmer manually removes the skin and seed of the fruit so as to remain with the green or yellowish pulp.
• The pulp is crushed in the funnel-like chamber.
• The machine separates the oil from the pulp and the residue remains in the pressing chamber.
• The oil exits through a downward facing outlet for filtering in a separate chamber.
• A special sterilized white clothing can also be used to remove impurities from the oil.
• The avocado oil is ready for packaging and sale after approval by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS)

Uses of Avocado Oil in Kenya

• Avocado oil is used in all kinds of cooking such as frying, baking, roasting or grilling
• It can be used in salad dressing or marinating meat
• Cuticle treatment
• Skin lotions
• Hair and skin treatments
• Wood treatment