Did you know that avocados were once a luxury food reserved for the tables of royalty. But now avocados are enjoyed around the world by people from all walks of life. Depending on where you are in Kenya, you can find avocado in a meal as a side dish, topping or as the main ingredient in puddings and dessert.
Avocados are fast becoming a popular food item. The reason behind it is that people are increasingly making lifestyle changes that include healthy living. Salads have become common on many people’s plate and what’s a salad without avocado.
Avocados provide nearly 20 vitamins and minerals and more importantly, they provide beneficial unsaturated fats (good fats) that help lower heart disease risk.
Kenya Avocado Export Price
Today, the global appetite for the avocado is year-round. An increase in avocado prices on the international market has been sweet news for farmers and Kenyan avocado exporting companies.
The Horticultural Crops Directorate (HCD) says Kenya’s avocado exports in 2023 jumped 19% to about 123,000 metric tonnes over the 12 months to October. They earned Kenya Sh18 billion. Kenya netted Sh16 billion from about 103,000 tonnes of the fruit exported over a similar period in 2022.
As of November 2020, export prices of avocado have risen to Sh800 per 4kg carton. The November prices represented a 33.33% jump when compared to a similar month of 2019 when a 4kg package of the fruit sold for Sh600 in the export market.
The rising global demand for avocados has been driving up avocado prices. The price of a kilo of Kenyan avocados in the export market has been fluctuating. Here are those small changes in price:
- 1.50 US Dollars in 2017
- 1.64 US Dollars in 2018
- 1.62 US Dollars in 2019
Here are the total values in export for avocados from Kenya between 2015 and 2023:
Price of Avocado per Kilo 2021
Avocado prices hit a peak of Sh200 (about US1.9 dollars) per kilo in the first quarter of 2021. The fruit is packed in a 4kg carton which is thus going at an average of US7.4 dollars.
A majority of small avocado farmers in Kenya now sell their produce directly to exporters in Kenya after they were encouraged to form groups to enable bulking of the produce. With demand rising in the global market, Kenyan farmers are selling each fruit for up to US0.37 dollars which is the highest ever.
A group of avocado farmers in Murang’a County are selling their fruit to a top avocado exporter in Kenya at Sh20 each. This is a rise from Sh11 per kg. Murang’a County is one of the highest producers of avocados in Kenya and is responsible for more than 60% of the total exports. In 2019, Murang’a farmers earned Sh7 billion from avocados.
The value of Kenya’s avocado exports jumped 93% to Sh4.26 billion in the first quarter of last year compared to 2020. Kenya exported 26,481 tonnes of the fruit between January and March last year compared to 15,101 tonnes in 2020.
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
How much is a Kilo of Avocado in Kenya?
The average price of a kilogram of avocados in Kenya is about Sh30. This price has been steady for the last three years owing to the increased production of the fruit.
In 2018, avocados were sold at average price of Sh2,200 for a 90kg bag. A kilo of avocados was sold for about Sh25. Here is a list of prices in 2018 for a 90kg bag of avocados across major towns in Kenya:
- Sh2,200 in Nairobi
- Sh4,000 in Mombasa
- Sh1,800 in Kisumu
- Sh2,000 in Nakuru
- Sh2,300 in Eldoret
- Sh900 in Kitale
There was a jump in prices in 2019 for this favorite fruit of most Kenyans. Avocados were sold at an average price of Sh2,700 for a 90kg bag. A kilo of avocados was sold for about Sh30. Here is a list of prices in 2019 for a 90kg bag of avocados across major towns in Kenya:
- Sh2,800 in Nairobi
- Sh3,500 in Mombasa
- Sh3,600 in Eldoret
- Sh1,700 in Kisumu
- Sh3,500 in Nakuru
- Sh900 in Kisii
Avocados are a favorite among Kenyans for eating githeri (mixture of maize and beans). In 2020, they retailed at an average price of Sh2,910 for a 90kg bag. A kilo of avocados was sold between Sh30-Sh40.
Here is a list of prices in 2020 for a 90kg bag of avocados across major towns in Kenya:
- Sh3,200 in Nairobi
- Sh3,000 in Nakuru
- Sh3,750 in Mombasa
- Sh2,600 in Eldoret
- Sh2,000 in Kitale
Since the year 2022 began, avocado prices in Kenya have hit the roof. A few years ago, a good size of avocado was as low as Sh10 and a kilo of avocado was sold at Sh30. But now the price of the fruit is averaging at Sh60 in major towns.
Avocado prices in the international market have been steadily rising over the past few months. The Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya (FPC Kenya) says the current high prices of avocado in the local market is due to the restricted export of the fruit.
This has led to a shortage of the fruit in the local market. This shortage will continue until later next month or early in March. It is when farmers will be allowed by HCD to sell mature avocado fruits.
Hass Avocado Price per kg in Kenya
Hass avocado is the new goldmine for avocado farmers in Kenya. The return from an acre with 150 Hass avocado trees after four years is about Sh450,000. One well maintained Hass avocado tree can give bear 1,000 fruits a year. At maximum production, a single mature tree can produce 70kg-100kg of fruits per year.
Before the market was regulated, farmers used to sell a fruit for as low as Sh1. But now avocado exporters in Kenya buy the Hass avocado at Sh10-Sh17. Prices in the local market start at Sh8 depending on size.
Kenyan Hass avocados sell in the European markets at nearly three times the domestic price, thus making the exporting options very attractive. But during the off-season, between November and February, Hass avocado in the local market goes for Sh30 per kilo from Sh20.
Fuerte Avocado Price per kg in Kenya
The demand for Fuerte avocado is quite high in the export market. Currently, Kenya is one of the few countries still exporting the variety to other nations. The price of Fuerte avocado is about Sh5 per kilo.
In the Middle East, especially in Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, the demand for Kenyan Fuerte avocados has increased by around 80%. Italy, France and countries in Eastern Europe are the other large market shares for Fuerte avocados from Kenya.
Kenya Avocado Export Ban
The rapid rise in the export prices has led to some traders picking immature fruit. Kenya’s avocado market in the Middle-East was hit in 2018 following export of low quality crop. The price of the fruit to Dubai dropped by almost half in March 2018 as sale of immature crop hit the value of the produce. HCD says that the price of a single avocado dropped from 35 dirhams (Sh945) in 2017 to 16 dirhams (Sh432) during the period.
Some farmers fail to stick to the necessary quality standards required. They don’t give the fruits ample time to reach full maturity. They do this to take advantage of the current high prices in the export market. But this risks the whole Kenyan avocado export being rejected in the global market.
Kenya’s horticulture regulator, HCD, has put a hold on the export of Hass and the Fuerte varieties from November last year to February for Fuerte and March for Hass this year. This move is to curb harvesting of immature crop by hungry farmers and dealers
But exporters of the Jumbo variety are exempted from this suspension, alongside those having off-season crop. They only do it by air and not sea, with the size expected to be at least 184g for a single fruit.
Why are Avocados So Expensive?
It is currently an off-season for avocados in Kenya. This means that avocado trees flower less and the harvest per tree will be lower compared to last year. If a tree normally produces 200kg, in an off-season it will produce 100kg. This is already impacting the prices of both the fruit itself and its by-products such as avocado oil.