Market News

Eight central governors in deal on avocado value-addition

muchemi

Peter Muchemi tends to his avocado trees at Kangaita Village in Nyeri County on March 15. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NMG

Eight Mount Kenya region counties have come together to form an avocado marketing bloc targeting value addition.

Through the proposed Aberdare Region Avocado Growers Union to be chaired by Charles Miriti, the governors will approach the market collectively after establishing at least two value addition plants.

The counties are Laikipia, Nyeri, Tharaka Nithi, Nyandarua, Murang’a, Embu, Kirinyaga and Meru. The governors recently issued Hass avocado seedlings to farmers.

According to Mr Miriti, the counties have committed to pool together Sh80 million that will be used in research and tabling of a time frame report towards realisation of the joint avocado economy.

He said global avocado market trend currently point to an annual growth of 5.9 percent, meaning it will hit a gross of Sh2.2 trillion by 2026.

He said Kenya can consolidate half of that market share for its growers by 2022.

“The climax of this drive will be formation of a giant avocado producer group that will bring together county umbrella producer groups and at the bottom level have ward level producer groups,” he said.

The avocado market will be approached in a two tier format where there will be exotic breeds’ producers as well as the traditional variety producers.

“While we have been advancing exotic varieties as the most ideal for the market, there are those farmers who have expressed genuine fears that if all of them were to specialise on one production technology, they risk oversaturating the market with the produce hence bringing down prices,” he said.

County governments have agreed on promoting all varieties of avocado production and also to open talks on how to build value addition plants.