Avocado exports have only been paused for harvesting — agency

Kenyans have been assured that there is no ban on exporting avocados to the international market.

What is in place is the closure of the harvesting season to allow for the fruits to mature. 

Horticulture Crops Directorate acting director Christine Chesaro clarified that the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) did not ban the export of Kenya avocados, as was reported in the media last year.

She said they were closing the window for the harvesting season.

Chesaro said every fruit has a harvesting season, and that includes the avocado.

“The main avocado season in the country starts around mid-March to November,” she said.

“Any harvesting of the fruit beyond these months is managed and guided through a survey.”

She said there is a reason why they intervene.

“If we don’t close the window of harvesting avocados when the season ends, we are afraid people will start harvesting immature avocados because they want to make money,” Chesaro said.

“Most likely it is not even the farmers' wish but the brokers.”

She said failure to manage the closure and opening of the season could mess the export market.

This is because Kenya will be accused of exporting immature fruits, she said.

“The other challenge is that farmers will have no fruit to harvest when the avocado season comes since they will have harvested the fruits while raw,” she said.   

“This is why we close the window of exportation when the season ends to allow for the avocados to mature. It is not a ban but a closure when the maturity season is over.

“Once they have matured, we open the export window again. Kenya has not banned the export of avocados as was reported.” 

She said reporting that there is a ban tends to send the wrong signal to the international export market.

She said between December and February (when the harvesting window is closed), HCD normally does a survey to check how the field is performing.

“If we find out that there are mature avocados and there is adequate volume, we open the window for harvesting briefly for either a few weeks or a month, and then we close again,” Chesaro said.

“The survey is what guides the decision on whether to close or open the harvesting and export of avocados.”

In December last year, the Avocado Society of Kenya accused the regulator of colluding with some companies to export immature avocados.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the society's CEO Ernest Muthomi named companies that are allegedly exporting the immature fruit and accused HCD of colluding with them.

In the post under the handle @KenyaAvocados, Muthomi tagged Chambers of Commerce and envoys of various countries where Kenya exports avocado.

But HCD came out strongly to dispute the claims, adding that the named company had exported mangoes and not avocados.

In a letter copied to all avocado exporters, Chesaro wrote, “It is noted with great concern that your association has recently engaged in actions that cause disharmony and disrepute to the industry and likely to injure Kenya’s trade in horticulture.”

She called out the social media post, saying it relayed unverified information on Kenyan export of avocado to Dubai.

It also contained false allegations that a particular export company had exported immature avocado, while in reality the company had exported mango, Chesaro said.

"Verbal attacks on individuals and regulatory institutions on social media media platforms and failure to follow the right communication channels on a matters touching on the industry’s and national reputation,” she added.

She said such an accusation is counterproductive to the growth and development of the entire horticulture industry, and has a negative impact on Kenya’s ties with other countries.