Horticulture exporters in Kenya are increasingly compelled to transport their produce by sea rather than air, as consumers and retailers in the European Union market aggressively push for products with lower carbon emissions.
Stakeholders in Kenya’s horticulture sector now say that the growing number of environmentally conscious consumers in Europe, coupled with competition from rival producers who predominantly use sea transport to the key market, is forcing Kenya to turn to ships to withstand the pressure.
“Retailers in Europe, because of the demands of their consumers, are increasingly demanding low climate impact produce in their market. There is a huge difference in the carbon emissions of air freight compared to sea freight. So, some retailers are already demanding that all of the fruits and vegetables they buy be transported through sea freight,” said Erik Van De Kamp, senior project manager of Flying Swans, a Dutch firm that operates cold chain infrastructure around the world, including in Naivasha.
“If you look at vegetables, for example, Kenya exports French beans to the UK and the Netherlands. Because source markets such as Morocco, Senegal, and Zimbabwe have successfully shifted to transportation by sea freight, retailers then have options and increasingly can decide not to buy from Kenya,” he added.
Major European retailers, which buy the largest share of Kenya’s fresh produce, have imposed restrictions on the transportation of the produce by air in favour of sea transport.
In 2022, the UK’s largest food services company, Compass Group UK & Ireland, banned the use of air freight to transport fresh fruits and vegetables as part of its efforts to cut its carbon footprint by 2030.
Several other giant retailers in the bloc, including Lidl, have also cut back on air freight to source stock such as fresh fruit and vegetables for their stores—a measure aimed at reducing the carbon emissions associated with the transport of fresh produce.
Whereas Kenya has made progress in transporting its avocado to the European market by sea freight, concern is growing that the dominance of air freight in transporting cut flowers risks undermining the country's competitiveness in the global markets.
“The volumes from Kenya to Rotterdam Port on sea freight have grown because of the rise in avocado exports from the country. If you look at Kenya’s avocado exports they have doubled or even tripled over the last ten years and it is still growing a lot. If you look at cut flowers and vegetables, only a very limited portion, up to five percent or so, is transported by sea freight,” said Mr Van De Kamp.
The total area under avocado crop in Kenya grew from 25,669 hectares in 2022 to 33,428 hectares in 2023, with the total production rising by 82.4 percent to 805,500 tonnes.
Horticulture is Kenya’s second-largest source of export earnings, having raked in Sh187.5 billion in 2023, marginally below tea, which generated Sh188.7 billion, of which Sh107.6 billion was attributable to cut flowers.
