Avocado Farmers and Traders are calling on President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and help re-negotiate the avocado export deal between Kenya and China.
The traders led by Elijah Njoroge Kamau of MoFarm Fresh Fruits Exporters said the deal does not favor Kenyan farmers or traders.
In a statement, they said although it was a ground breaking deal, only frozen fruits were approved for export.
They said frozen avocados have a lot of stringent measures that have been put in place by the Chinese Government.
“These measures keep away many potential farmers from directly exporting the produce. The farmers and exporters have to freeze the fruits to negative 30 degrees Celsius after peeling off the skin and freeze further to negative 18 degrees Celsius while in transit,” said Kamau.
He said these measures cannot be met by many farmers and exporters.
Kamau added that there is only one exporter currently in Kenya who exports frozen avocados.
They want the deal reviewed because farmers will be required to install machines and coolers for peeling and freezing the fruit before it is exported.
The traders said this will be a lot of expense for the small-scale farmers who want to compete in the market.
According to the farmers, fresh avocados are harvested about 80% matured and after the transit; they are sold as ripe avocado and they are better than the frozen ones.
They said most avocados exported to China from other parts of the world like Peru are fresh.
The farmers said China receives 80% of fresh avocados in their market hence if the fresh avocados are also approved for exportation, it will create a competitive market for the Kenyan produce.
They said that the Chinese clients that have engaged farmers and exporters such as Benta Fresh Ltd and MoFarm Fresh Fruits Exporters only ask for fresh avocados.
“We propose that fresh fruit be added to the trade deal to allow us to have competitive advantage in the market,” Kamau said.
He said the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis), which will oversee the export of avocados, admitted the conditions set by China could end up limiting small-scale farmers in the country from accessing the market.
“70% of growers are small-scale farmers hence the deal does not help small-scale growers of the crop as previously thought,” they said.
For seven years, Kenya has been fighting to have its avocado access the Chinese market in its full form.
On 25th April 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a trade deal in Beijing which made Kenya the first African nation to export avocados to the Asian nation with a market of over 1.4 billion consumers.
The stakeholders fear China is likely to suspend the exports if Kenya does not comply with the rules and continuous non-compliance will definitely lead to a total ban