Green chilli, which takes approximately three months to mature, was affected by the poor distribution of rainfall in October to December 2017, according to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA).
This has forced Goldensilver Exporters, which trades in European countries such as Germany, UK and France, to reduce the tonnage it sends to clients.
The demand for chilli from European countries has increased by 27 per cent from 37,000 tonnes in 2012 to 45,000 tonnes in 2016.
Goldensilver Exporters, a green chilli exporting company has reported in the last three months a decrease in its volumes from 10 to four tonnes a week due to the drought that affected the harvest season in December.
This has in turn led to air freight companies to prioritise other produce such as flowers, which are in high supply and demand, for export cargo space.
Green chilli, which takes approximately three months to mature, was affected by the poor distribution of rainfall in October to December 2017, according to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA).
This has forced Goldensilver Exporters, which trades in European countries such as Germany, UK and France, to reduce the tonnage it sends to clients.
“We export green chilli every week. One client can request for up to five tonnes. When we tell them that we are not able to meet that amount, some will look for an exporter that can fill the deficit while others will find an exporter that can provide them with the whole amount. Therefore we lose a client,” said Goldensilver Exporters CEO Eric Wachira.
The demand for chilli from European countries has increased by 27 per cent from 37,000 tonnes in 2012 to 45,000 tonnes in 2016.
Kenya is one of the medium to large suppliers of the produce to the European Union majorly Germany, the UK and France, according to the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries.
In a bid to cope with the deficit, Goldensilver has moved from getting its supply from select farmers to an open market, taking from all sellers.
They also have to inform the respective freight companies of the reduced tonnage so that they guarantee cargo space in the aeroplane.
Usually, green chilli exporters book cargo space at the air forwarders a day in advance.
Air freight forward companies, on the other hand, based on the export trends witnessed in previous years, will submit their scheduled flights at the beginning of the year to the State aviation bodies.
These State bodies include the Kenya Airport Authority (KAA), the owner and operator of civilian airports and airstrips in Kenya; the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) responsible for regulating the aviation industry; and the Kenya Revenue Authority(KRA), which is tasked with assessment, collection and accounting for all revenues including airline’s navigation fees.
However at the moment, due to the market trends, flower exports are given priority in cargo space because they are in high supply. Vegetables such as green chilli are in low supply.
“The scheduling of flights is done at the beginning of the year, but when we have ad hoc flights (unscheduled extra flights), we inform these agencies so that they can plan for the landing and taking off slots as well as the manpower on the ground that will handle these extra flights,” said an industry insider.
For green chilli dealers, the low supply has also meant that they buy the produce from a farmer at a higher price than before in order to meet the market demands.
“At the moment, we are buying the chilli at Sh80 per kilo, which is still normal market price but on the higher side, compared with when there was a steady supply. Before, we were buying at Sh60,” said Wachira.
In July last year, a 38kg bag of chilli was priced at Sh2,952 but by September it had risen to Sh3,088 , according to the Agriculture and Food Authority quarter one statistics (July-September 2017-18).
Due to the rainfall experienced recently, green chilli exports are expected to pick up by the next harvest season in July.
- African Laughter
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