Horticultural business is one of the most unexploited areas in Kenya despite its high profitability.
The horticulture sub-sector is one of the top foreign exchange earners for the country generating approximately US $ 1 billion annually.
Kenyan horticulture exporters are already experiencing high demand for vegetables, fruits and flowers from European countries as they gear up for the high season in October 2018 to May 2019.
The European Union is the largest market for cut flowers from Kenya at 38 per cent.
About 50 per cent of cut flowers from Kenya are sold through the Dutch auction.
During October, countries such as the UK celebrate the Halloween holiday, which is one of the factors driving the increase in exports as cut flowers are used for decorations during the celebrations.
Data released in October 2017 by Floridata, a UK horticulture research company, shows that in October 2016, flower exports in the UK grew by two per cent with cut flowers accounting for the largest growth in turnover at approximately 10 per cent.
Therefore, as the autumn season continues in Europe, exporters in Kenya are dealing with high demand for flowers, passion fruits and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes.
“It is the high season for horticulture exports in Kenya, all the products are in demand now. The low season starts in early June and ends in September,” said Simon Kirima, chief executive officer of Kerry’s Kool Fresh, a Kenyan horticulture export company.
“…there is a scarcity of produce due to increase demand and this is when the prices rise, so there is a lot of activity during this period.”
Currently, Kerry Kool Fresh is experiencing a high demand for passion fruits and has even been forced to turn down some clients because he cannot meet the demand.
The company exports two tonnes of passion fruits to the UK every week and is expecting this to rise to three tonnes during the period.
In the last week, Mr Kirima has received three enquiries from importers in the Netherlands.
Apart from rising demand, the weather, – which is now hot and dry– is currently favourable and the fruits mature faster, in 60 days. Production is, therefore, higher compared to the previous, cool and wet weather, which stagnated the growth of the fruits.
“In Europe, there is a consumption pattern. There are four seasons — summer, autumn, winter and spring. During this season, they (Europeans) are mostly at home rather than travelling, so the food products purchased, including fruits, are for immediate consumption and not storage. We, therefore, expect in November, December and January the demand to be very high,” said Mr Kirima.
Eunice Mutua, CEO of Select Fresh Produce, exporters in fruits and vegetables, said they are experiencing a high demand of passion fruits. She said the fruits are already sold out on the farms or have been pre-booked by other exporters.
“At the moment, very few farmers in the country have passion fruits which can be difficult in meeting clients’ demand,” said Ms Mutua.
Demand in other products such as orange-fleshed sweet potatoes is being driven by its nutritional value. It contains 77 per cent water, 20 per cent carbohydrate, 1.6 per cent protein, three per cent fibre and almost no fat. It has also been found to have anti-carcinogenic properties thus helping in the reduction of the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
Ms Mutua said her firm is currently experiencing a demand for one container every week, which contains approximately 28 tonnes of sweet potatoes.
The company exports the products to the United Kingdom, where their buyers are seeking to add value to orange-fleshed sweet potatoes.
“The buyers from the UK are seeking to engage in the value addition of sweet potatoes including the making of bread, children’s porridge or puree among other products. This has driven its demand,” said Ms Mutua.
Kenyan exporters are also expecting high demand for mangoes from the UK and Netherlands as its season begins in October until February the following year.