Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina has announced that Kenya will start exporting avocados to South Korea in March 2022 as part of the country’s horticulture business expansion strategy.
According to the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) managing director, Theophilus Mutui, the agency has drafted phytosanitary standards that exporters should meet to enable the shipping of the produce to South Korea.
In May 2015, Kenya initiated a bilateral agreement to access the South Korean market for various products from Kenya. The move saw Kenya allowed to export banana and broccoli, which would not require pest risk analysis as is the case with other produce.
However, Kenya has only exported less than a tonne since 2015, prompting the Trade ministry to raise concern in May over the failure by Kenya to export these two produce despite a ready market.
South Korea imports 70% of its food, and according to its Customs Service, the country imported 834,000 tonnes of bananas worth $1.24 billion in 2017.
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