• An unlicensed agent was found openly transporting avocado fruits to JKIA last week
• Improper handling of avocados and harvesting immature fruits taint Kenya's exports
Image: Alice Waithera
The Agriculture and Food Authority has dispatched a team of enforcement officials to ensure players in the avocado sector adhere to the set regulations.
This follows an incident where an unlicensed agent was found openly transporting avocado fruits to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) last week.
Regulations require avocado fruits to be transported in a covered vehicle and packed in plastic crates.
The rogue agent sparked tension that led to nine containers belonging to an exporter being blocked from leaving a warehouse for shipping in Mombasa.
AFA officials held a meeting with avocado marketers and exporting agents in Murang’a on Tuesday, and reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring the set laws are strictly adhered to.
The two officials, David Makoli and Collins Otieno, said the authority is set on ensuring only good quality avocados access the exports market.
“We want players in the sector to follow the regulations so that the quality of the fruits we produce can be safeguarded,” Makoli said.
“Transporting the produce in open pickups has been outlawed.”
Makoli said the team of enforcement officials on the ground is keeping a keen eye on transportation of the fruits, adding that the transporting agents must be licensed by Horticulture Crops Directorate.
He warned that the authority will not refrain from cancelling the licences of defiant avocado dealers, who risk compromising the quality of exported fruits.
On his part, Otieno said the government is keen on boosting the demand for Kenyan avocado fruits in the international market.
He said recently, the market has been flooded by fruits from Peru that ranked third among the top avocado exporters globally last year after Mexico and Netherlands, while Kenya ranked ninth.
Peruvian hass avocado exports amounted to 367,933 metric tonnes in 2020, 483,017 in 2021 and 554,498 last year, while the projections for this year are 624,000 metric tons.
Otieno said the only way to sustain Kenya’s position as a major avocado producer and exporter is to ensure the right quality of avocado fruits is maintained.
Murang’a Avocado Exporters’ Association chairperson Samson Wakibia said it is concerning that they may end up incurring losses due to rogue agents who are unwilling to follow the regulations.
“We don’t want to lose our licences just because some transportation agents are caught contravening the law. The agents must ensure they transport avocados in crates and covered vehicles,” he said.
Transport Agents Association chairperson Joseph Wanjohi urged the exporters to assist their transporting agents with crates.
He said the regulations are clear on the transportation of the fruits from farms to warehouses, and called for all players to do their part to safeguard the country’s reputation in the international market.
AFA enforced the new regulations in March before the start of the harvesting season, and has been regulating when the fruits are harvested to ensure they are fully mature.
Improper handling of avocados and harvesting of immature fruits are the main factors cited for tainting the reputation of Kenyan avocado exports.
Avocado exports earn the country about Sh19 billion annually.
Last year, Kenya exported 1.8 per cent of all avocados consumed globally, raking in Sh18.5 billion, and was second in the African continent after Morocco, which earned Sh21.1 billion.