Fresh produce exports earn Kenya Sh84bn
What you need to know:
- Earnings from vegetables were hard hit, declining by 18 per cent to Sh18.8 billion compared to Sh22.9 billion made in 2013 on lower volumes.
- The value of fruits registered the most growth as it rose 20 per cent to Sh5.4 billion compared to Sh4.48 billion earned in a previous year.
- Cut flowers, on the other hand, registered a growth of 7 per cent to Sh59.9 billion up from Sh55.9 billion year on year.
Despite being slapped with a higher tariff to access the country’s biggest market in Europe, horticulture registered growth in earnings for 2014, albeit marginal.
Kenya earned Sh84 billion from fresh produce exports last year, representing a 0.8 per cent increase.
According to data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), earnings rose by Sh700 million to Sh84 billion in 2014 from Sh83.3 billion the sub-sector fetched in 2013.
Delays by Kenya and the European Union to sign an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in the last half of 2014, affected performance during the period.
Earnings from vegetables were hard hit, declining by 18 per cent to Sh18.8 billion compared to Sh22.9 billion made in 2013 on lower volumes.
The value of fruits registered the most growth as it rose 20 per cent to Sh5.4 billion compared to Sh4.48 billion earned in a previous year.
Cut flowers, on the other hand, registered a growth of 7 per cent to Sh59.9 billion up from Sh55.9 billion year on year.
Export volumes rose by 10.5 per cent to 114,762 tonnes in 2014 from 103,778 tonnes in 2013, while those of fruits rose by 13 per cent to 35,149 tonnes from 31,107 tonnes in the period under review.
The European Union is Kenya’s largest market of horticultural products and accounts for between 65 per cent and 70 per cent of the value of export earnings.
