The Horticulture Directorate on January 17, 2023, announced the opening of a two-week window for the export of the off-Season for mature Avocado fruits. This short window usually precedes the long window that opens in mid-March.
Following a survey conducted early this year, the Directorate established that about 10 percent to 35 percent of fruits were mature in both the East and West Rift, thus, they were ready for the export market. Failure to allow farmers to sell these fruits before the official March window will result in losses for the farmers.
The two-week period will not only see farmers pocket from the early harvest, but it will most importantly serve as a pilot window ahead of the main fruit season. Regulators will have a great opportunity to observe the quality of fruits that are expected to be harvested in mass during the official long avocado season.
The move will also be of great benefit to the government’s revenue collection, especially at a time when the government wants to maximize on the same. With last year’s avocado export to china contributing over 6 billion in earnings, it is evident that there is a need to give even more attention to avocado farming and actions like the opening of the off-season window are a welcome gesture from the government.
As FPC Kenya we have been educating farmers through training on the importance of Good Agricultural Practices (G.A.P) to ensure that they are market-compliant because they are now well-equipped with the knowledge on how to properly use pesticides among other practices. This good practice ensures that our farmers produce more good quality avocados which are good for the export market.
On their part, farmers and exporters are urged to resist the temptation of exporting immature fruits. Failure to supply the market with the right quality fruits poses a number of risks in the market, key among them being the potential of our fruits getting banned in the export market. This of course results in huge losses on the part of the farmers and exporters alike.
