Despite climate change challenges affecting the horticulture sector, Kenya was able to hit the KES 1.7 billion mark in horticulture exports earnings to China in three months between August and October 2022.
Director Horticulture Crops Directorate (HCD) under the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) in the Ministry of Agriculture Benjamin Tito said in late August, Kenya emerged as the number one exporter of Avocado to the Chinese market.
This followed the revision of the initial protocol signed in 2018 that only allowed frozen avocados in the Chinese market, to currently allow fresh avocados into the Chinese market.
Tito says that comparing data for exports to China in the month of August with the same period last year where Kenya was able to export only 24,000 kilos of fresh fruit and this year when the country has been able to export 1.3 million kilos, there is a value increase of more than KES 7 billion.
Currently, Kenya is depending on 15 farmer exporters who have been cleared to export to China.
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