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: 26 May 2017; Hits: 11320

Avocado price triples in Malindi

avocado salashed. Photo by Potentash.jpg

Slashed avocado for consumption. Malindi is the best market for the fruit, offering three times more than most towns in Kenya. Photo by Pontansh

As the harvest of the avocado crop picks in most production areas in Kenya, the coastal town of Malindi town is buying at triple the price of what inland regions are offering for very 90kg bag.

The bag, which is costing Sh1,800 in Nakuru, Eldoret, and Mombasa is selling at Sh6,000 in Malindi. Mombasa, however, is also a town along the coast that is about 150km from Malindi.

The Malindi price is the highest for the commodity among the major towns prices under review by SokoPepe, an online farm produce cost watch.

Kisumu offers the least amount of money for the same quantity as the wholesalers pay Sh1,400.

The main season for avocado in Kenya starts from March to September. Fuerte harvests start from March while hass enters the market from May every year.

Kenya produces about 115,000 tonnes annually but about 70 per cent of the produce is exported to the European Union, Middle East and other Asian countries. This is a significant increase from 110,000 tonnes that were produced in 2010, according to the horticulture department of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Apart from the export, the local market also consumes avocados, with shortage periods earning farmers more than thrice the plenty season price.

One of the biggest benefits to the Kenyan farmers is the tropical climate, which causes the avocados to have a varied harvest period. This spread the production through the year.

Avocado farming takes place in Murang’a, Kisii, Meru, western, among other regions.

The main consumers in the export market include the Netherlands, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, among others.

Peru, Chile and the United States’ California state are the leading producers of avocado in the world. But still the Kenyan avocado, the fuerter and hass compete with these American giants in the export market.

Besides consumption, avocado is used in the beauty products, harvesting of oil for cooking, among other applications.

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: 25 May 2017; Hits: 9184

Russian boycott of EU products opens market for Kenyan farmers

Avocado photo by mt-kenya-avocado-farmer.jpg

A farmer with harvested avocados. Russia's boycott of farm produce from EU presents a market opportunity for Kenya. Photo by Mt Kenya Avocados.

Russia’s continued boycott of European Union products presents an all-year round market opportunity for the Kenyan horticultural farmers in the export industry.

Monica Kamau of Kankam Exporters said Russia has a potential of consuming the excess produce that may not go to the traditional market like the USA and the EU.

Russia started boycotting importing vegetables and fruits from the EU in 2014. That was after the EU and the US imposed sanctions on Russia in March 2014 protesting against the former Soviet Union members’ invasion of Ukraine’s Crimea region.

In 2013, the total dairy, vegetable and fruits export from EU to Russia was about Sh603.2 billion (5.2 billion Euros).

“Russia has become much more important for Kenya since they started boycotting European products,” Kamau told FreshPlaza.

In responses to the sanctions, Russia also subsidised inputs for farmers, which has since increased grain and livestock production by 16 per cent and over 45 per cent respectively.

Kankam grows its own crops for export including avocados, mangoes and other vegetables.

The company also buys the harvests from farmers to meet its market demand in Germany, Spain, Russia, Middle East, Netherlands, France, Lebanon, among others.

The produce, which is collected from farmers, is packed and refrigerated for shipment.

Besides its 50 acres, Kankam has a combined acreage of 250 among smallholders.

The main avocado varieties the company exports are fuerte and hass. And she says the Kenyan avocado has a better flavour than its main competitors – Peru and Chile.

Kenya avocado export to South Africa was banned in 2010 over farm hygiene concerns. Expanding to the Russian market may boost farmer’s revenues.

The harvest period for the avocados starts in March until August. Peru is the main competitor in the export market, although this year the South American Country reported delays of harvest due to bad weather in March.

This effectively gives Kenya a window of less competition until the harvest expected to hit the market from June.

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: 24 May 2017; Hits: 8684

Beans prices rise as maize remains scarce

beans by ciat.JPG

A farmer with various bean types. Beans have equally grown in price although the attention is on maize in Kenya. Photo by CIAT.

Although the attention has been sustained on the rising maize cost due to the ongoing shortage, the price of other gains and seeds have also gone up by between Sh700 to more than Sh1,700 for every 90kg bag from January to end of April.

A closer look into the beans for instance reveals that the wholesale cost of mwitemania variety rose by a margin of Sh1,716 in the four months under review. The bags was selling at Sh6,203 in January 2017. But by the end of April, 2017, it was selling at Sh7,919.

The mwitemania bean variety rise was the highest among the eight seeds and gains reviewed by the Agriculture and Food Authority – a department under the Ministry of Agriculture.

The price of rosecoco beans also shot from Sh6,815 to settle at Sh8,394, making a leap of Sh1,579.

Canadian beans came in third in the category after gaining Sh1,261 to settle at Sh7,922 from the initial Sh6,661.

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Finger millet, which is commonly consumed as porridge after grinding into flour, also gained Sh1,172 shillings by the end of April from Sh6,584. Its common companion, sorghum gained Sh934 from Sh4,341.

Green grams and cow peas gained Sh766 and Sh831 from Sh9,159 and Sh6,935 respectively.

Beans are protein rich crops consumed by more than 400 million people in Africa.

The various varieties are consumed with maize grains after cooking together to form a mixed delicacy commonly called githeri, pure or nyoyo in Kenya.

As the price of maize also shot from Sh2,300 to the more than Sh4,800 in most parts of the country, there has been a shift to rice as the corn flour remains expensive to most families besides unavailability.

A 2kg pack of maize flour sells at between Sh140 and Sh180 at the moment. The government subsidised flour that is supposed to retail at Sh90 is hard to find.

Just like the beans, green grams and cowpeas also accompany the rice, which is relatively cheaper than maize.

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