Success as Tanzania’s avocado cargo delivered to India

The cargo was received by the Tanzanian Ambassador to India, Anisa Mbega (center). The shipment was done in collaboration between the IG Fruit of India &Avoafrica of Makambako. PHOTO | COURTESY

By The Citizen Reporter

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Mumbai. More than 22 tonnes of Tanzanian-grown Hass avocados worth over

Sh100 million have been exported to Mumbai, offering a ray of hope to local growers and Indian consumers.

Whereas Tanzanian avocados growers are smiling all the way to the bank for securing a steadfast market; Indian consumers are also whetting appetites, as the Tanzanian fruits would be cheaper and fresh.

The first container loaded with 22.3 metric tonnes of avocados from Makambako-based Avo Africa, to be shipped by Sea to India, was well received by its importer Mumbai-based IG Fruits International in an occasion graced by Tanzania’s Ambassador to India Anisa Mbega. “This is a great milestone for horticulture industry in Tanzania. Indian market is exceptionally vast and limitless. Congratulations Taha for the efforts, Avo Africa for producing quality avocados and IG fruits International for purchasing the butter fruits,” Ambassador Mbega said during the reception of the consignment.

A logistics company dedicated to facilitate horticultural crops exports and imports, Taha Fresh, has successfully managed to ship the delicate consignment by sea all the way to Mumbai-based Jawaharlal Port, raising the Tanzania’s profile high. Taha Fresh Handling Ltd general manager Amani Temu said his logistics firm has been playing a critical role in absorbing costly and time-consuming cross-border non-tariff barriers to export horticulture produce overseas.

He said, Taha Fresh also offers a wide range of horticultural products export and import services including airfreighting, clearing and forwarding, refrigerated trucking, perishable handling. “We’re proud to be part of this long waited breakthrough. We thank God for this incredible achievement. My earnest appreciations go to our government, Ministry of Agriculture, our member, Avo Africa, our subsidiary logistics company Taha Fresh and of course, Mumbai based IG fruits and our envoy in India, Ambassador Mbega for the great support” Taha CEO, Ms. Jacqueline Mkindi noted, adding: “This is a result of our participation into the Dubai Expo 2020, where the government and Taha signed a number of agreements meant to open up international markets for local fresh crops,” he said.

Ministry of Agriculture via twitter commended Taha on behalf of private sector for being proactive in crops international trade, pledging that the government would continue strengthening the bilateral trade ties and opening up overseas markets.

Tanzanian avocados were granted market access to India earlier this year. With no import duty on Tanzanian avocados, Shubha Rawal of IG Fruits International said the fruit would be reasonably priced for Indian consumers, helping grow the category.

“For a long time, India had been bereft of the goodness of creamy Tanzanian avocados,” said Rawal. “At IG International, we will offer the joy of biting into a selectively luscious bunch of Hass avocados straight from the lush green lap of Tanzania at very fair prices.”

Avo Africa is part of the Keitt Group, which has grown and exported fruit and vegetables to markets in Europe and the Middle East for over two decades. It claims to be the biggest grower-exporter of avocados from Tanzania and Kenya. Dipesh Devraj, commercial and operations director of Keitt Group - Tanzania and Kenya, said the Indian market had enormous potential for Tanzanian avocados.

“In January, a trade prohibition on avocado shipments from Tanzania to India was removed, allowing us to access the Indian fresh produce market,” Devraj explained. “Over the years, our avocados have been adored across the world, and now we wish to introduce them to India.

“Anyone apart from IG Fruits International would not have sufficed as we were only going to approach the best. Their extensive network and our stringent quality control are a winning combination. We are thrilled to finally enter the Indian market as an exporter and look forward to watching our clients’ faces light up when they eat our creamy avocados.”