Kenya is quickly becoming one of Africa’s top exporters of avocados. The country is a major supplier of the creamy fruit to Northern Europe and the Middle East. But it takes a lot to get an avocado fresh from the tree and ready for shipping overseas.
Avocado Processing in Kenya
Avocados are a delicate fruit and the processing begins immediately after they are picked from the tree. Kenya ships avocados to overseas markets that are very selective about the sort of fruit they want to import.
- The avocados are washed clean of any kind of dirt or debris.
- The avocados are then separated according to size. The large ones are for the export market while the smaller ones are for the domestic market.
- The avocados are disinfected to ensure there are no microbes on the skin. They are sprayed with an ozone based disinfectant. This is to make sure the entire fruit is clean and free of pathogens before being shipped.
- The clean and sanitized fruits are sorted to ensure there is no bruising, discoloration, signs of spoilage or pest infestation.
- The one that pass the test go on for sizing and sorting. The ones that get rejected are diverted.
- After that, the avocados are lined up in a single file using a mechanized trough.
- They end up on a conveyor belt based on their precise weight.
- The avocados are then boxed up into equally portioned cartons with different numbers of fruit in each.
- Before refrigeration, each box is given an identifying sticker. The sticker records the exact field and orchard where they were picked.
- The last stage of the avocado’s journey is the cold room. This where the temperature is reduced and carefully regulated at 5°C.
- The avocados stay at that temperature while being transported on a truck then onto a ship headed to Europe or somewhere else in the world.
Kenya Avocado Export Price
Avocado prices on the international market have been sweet news for farmers and exporters of the fruit. This is because global prices of avocado have been on the rise since 2020
Export prices for a 4kg pack of avocados rose to Sh800 in November last year. The Horticulture Crops Directorate (HCD) says it is a 33% increase year to year from 2019.
The price of Sh200 per kilo (about 1.9 U.S. dollars) from last year has maintained in the first quarter of 2021. The fruit is packed in a 4kg carton which goes for an average of 7.4 US dollars.
Avocado Exporters in Kenya
With demand rising in the global market, Kenyan avocado farmers are selling each fruit for up to 0.37 U.S. dollars. This is the highest price ever since brokers were eliminated. The brokers were buying the fruit for as low as 0.01 U.S. dollars a piece during the peak season.
A majority of Kenyan smallholder avocado farmers currently sell their produce directly to exporting companies. This is after they were encouraged to form groups to enable bulking of the produce. Some major avocado export companies in Kenya source their fruit from large scale growers or their own plantations.
Benefits of Avocado Exports in Kenya
- The income of smallholder farmers rose by nearly 39%. Last year, 12 Hass avocados sold for Sh4 (03 U.S. dollars) in domestic markets. But they fetched Sh6 (0.06 U.S. dollars) in global export markets.
- Employment opportunities increased. This is because international markets demanded higher quality avocados which required additional labor.
- Those smallholder farmers who sold to export markets belonged to established farmers’ group. These groups allow farmers to share agricultural techniques to improve their produce quality and increase yields.