The ban on exporting avocados from Kenya was lifted in the first week of March for the Fuerte variety and in the third week of March for the Hass variety. The ban had been imposed by the Kenyan government on 31 January this year to ensure that no immature avocados were exported.
“So far, the harvest has been okay since we experienced adequate rainfall in most of the areas where avocados are grown,” according to Magdaline Kamau from Mofarm Exporters. “Due to this, the fruits have developed well and are much bigger in size compared to the ones harvested in January. Most of these areas are producing large volumes of avocados which are able to supply to the high demand.
“The European demand for Kenyan avocados is still rising for the Hass variety especially in Spain, the Netherlands and France. We are hoping this together with the good prices will continue for the most of this season.
This season new markets are developing especially for Fuerte variety. These countries include Turkey and Egypt where the demand is rising extremely fast. Mofarm Exporters have maximized their supply to these markets up to five containers in a week to each country.
“At Mofarm we have laid the necessary measures for the Chinese market which has just opened for Kenyan avocados and inspections have been done on our farms and pack houses awaiting approval. We are hoping we shall get the approvals for us to be able to ship before the end of this season.”
