Economy
Exports hopeful as mangoes pass Italian safety test
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Mangoes ready for processing at Burton and Bamber Company in Machakos FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- Kenyan mangoes have received a certificate of good health in Italy in a big boost for growers as the country prepares to start exports to Europe after a 10-year ban due to the fruit fly.
- Kenya’s Health Inspection Service (Kephis) said a few tons of mangoes were sent to Italy on trial after the country corrected the problems that led to the ban.
Kenyan mangoes have received a certificate of good health in Italy in a big boost for growers as the country prepares to start exports to Europe after a 10-year ban due to the fruit fly.
Kenya’s Health Inspection Service (Kephis) said a few tons of mangoes were sent to Italy on trial after the country corrected the problems that led to the ban and Rome expressed satisfaction with the fruits.
The self-imposed ban made Kenya dependent on a less lucrative Middle Eastern market. However, with the presence of a hot water treatment to contain fruit flies, the lucrative European market is attracting farmers.
“Italy received the shipment we sent so well and they are even asking for more. This now gives us a window to resume exports to Europe, ”said Kephis Managing Director Theophilus Mutui.
Professor Mutui said the country was in the process of establishing a series of hot water treatment plants to tame the threat caused by these pests and fully resume exports to the European market and reduce over-reliance on the Middle East.
Kenyan mango exports to the Middle East typically face stiff competition from Egyptian fruits due to the low cost of shipping from Cairo to Dubai and Qatar compared to Kenya.
Egypt’s proximity to Middle Eastern countries, where Kenya currently exports most of its fruits, enjoys a lower shipping cost with a kilo of Sh32 per ship compared to a Kenyan exporter who has to divest. of Sh108 for the same amount.
Egypt has the advantage of the sea, which reduces costs, compared to Kenya, which has to export by air so that the fruits arrive while they are still fresh.
Kenya will also start mango exports to Pakistan for the first time, as the government is slated to endorse a Memorandum of Understanding, which has been delaying the deal that was first reached in 2016.
Kephis said that the draft in this regard is ready and now awaits the signature of the Secretary of the Cabinet of Agriculture, Peter Munya.
The development comes just weeks after Pakistan said it was ready to buy mangoes from Kenya, but Nairobi’s slowness in passing the MOU delayed the deal.