The transportation of avocados in pick-ups or pen lorries will no longer be allowed.
This follows a decision by the Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya (FPCK) that is aimed at maintaining high export standards.
FPCK's chief executive Okisegere Ojepat said on Tuesday that avocado transporters will be required to transport the produce in closed vehicles and they should be packaged in washable containers like crates.
He said this will help ensure that the right quality is maintained from farm to market.
"Transporters should use a closed vehicle and transport [avocados] in washable containers and in this case we are recommending that everybody works with crates. This is because you can wash them and maintain hygiene and ensure that the produce is transported well," he said.
He spoke during a press briefing on updates on EU-Kenya negotiations on fresh produce, organised by Science Africa.
Ojepat said this is not a new rule, as it is under the horticulture crop regulations only that it has not been enforced.
He further announced that those with ready off-season avocados, who have been licensed by the Horticulture Crops Directorate [HCD] have a window of four days to export the produce.
"Those with ready off-season avocados and have been approved by the regulator and given a clearance as per today, have a small window of about four days to have the produce exported," he said
He said the rest will have to wait until HCD gives a go ahead.
In December, HCD director Benjamin Tito said in conjunction with other value chain players they had closed avocado harvesting starting November 15, 2021, to early January 2022.
This, he said, was aimed at preventing export of immature avocados, which he said had negatively affected the image of the country in the overseas market.
It will also minimise the interference of the cropping cycle of trees thereby reducing projected volumes in subsequent harvests.
“The closure of the season was necessitated by a surveillance that was conducted during the month of September 2021 in major avocado production agro-ecological zones to ascertain the volumes of avocado fruits that can be exported by either sea or air,” said Tito at the time
He said the review to reopen avocado exports would be done on January 15, 2022, with allowable off-season sizes for varieties of Hass and Fuerte limited to a maximum size code of 22 and 24 respectively.
Ojepat said the industry is still monitoring the crop across the country before deciding on the resumption of exports.
"We want to confirm and be sure that when we shall open the window for export we will not be sending any immature crop. This is because we are in competition for the avocado market with other countries,"he said.
"In the past we have seen and had cases of exportation of immature avocados, and this is bad for the country. We want to be very sure that what leaves the country is of good quality," Ojepat said.
