Horticulture export earnings grew to Sh156.69 billion last year. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Horticulture export earnings increased by 6.5 percent in 2023, driven by increased volumes and a weak shilling.
Data from the Horticulture Crops Directorate (HCD) shows earnings grew to Sh156.69 billion last year, marking a growth from Sh147.1 billion in the previous year.
This was largely driven by a 19.6 percent increase in export quantities to 468,438 tonnes up from 391,507 tonnes that were shipped out in 2022.
Read: Europe's inflation cuts Sh12bn horticulture income
According to the Directorate, the horticultural produce – which is made up of fresh fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers – was shipped to some 152 destinations across the world.
Cut flowers contributed the largest share of the earnings (Sh73.45 billion) with 116.27 tonnes of flowers exported during the period followed by vegetables, which fetched Sh50.87 billion from the sale of 164.06 tonnes
Meanwhile, some 188.1 tonnes of fresh fruits were exported, fetching Sh32.37 billion.
The Netherlands retained its spot as Kenya’s largest horticulture market, with Sh42.78 billion fresh produce being sold in the European Union (EU) country.
This was followed by the UK (Sh22.41 billion), France (Sh20.24 billion), United Arab Emirates (Sh9.14 billion), and Germany (Sh7.91 billion).
“Emerging markets are China, India, and Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has replaced Russia as an alternative market in Central Asia,” said HCD.
The increased earnings mark a rebound from the previous year during which they went down by 6.7 percent from Sh157.7 billion in 2021.
It was widely expected that fresh produce exporters would earn bumper returns from exports due to the rapid depreciation of the Kenyan shilling against major world currencies, especially the US dollar.
Read: Horticulture earnings rise to record Sh158bn
However, the exporters have complained that the cost of shipping – which is billed in US dollars – as well as that of packaging imported material has gone up, eroding any gains made from the local currency depreciation.
→ bambani@ke.nationmedia.com
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