Kenya targets to shift 50 percent of fresh produce exports from air to sea freight by 2030

Nairobi,

Friday, December 15, 2023

KNA by Joseph Ng’ang’a

Trademark Africa (TMA) has signed a technical and financial support agreement with the National Horticulture Taskforce (NHT). The two partners committed to strengthening and sustaining investments in Kenya's fresh produce exports.

The agreement was signed as part of the EU-funded Business Environment and Export Enhancing Programme (BEEEP), which is among other areas supporting the transition of 50 percent of fresh produce exports from Kenya from air to sea freight by the year 2030.

The agreement was signed in Nairobi on Thursday at an event that brought together stakeholders from the logistics sector to assess the state of agro logistics in Kenya and review the development of Kenya’s master plan on the modal shift of fresh produce exports from air to sea freight.

TMA Kenya Country Director Ahmed Farah said that as the world moves towards more sustainable production, there has been a need for Kenyan producers to integrate sustainable agricultural practices and environmental impact mitigation strategies contributing towards the actualization of net zero carbon emissions.

“This partnership therefore will be key in enabling producers to meet these requirements,” said Farah.  

He explained that Kenya’s transitioning from air freight to sea freight is an environmental choice and a vital economic advantage to secure its fresh produce exports, as supermarkets in the UK and Europe seek to diminish their climate footprint.

Airfreighting from Kenya to Europe generates substantially higher greenhouse gases compared to sea freight (1 kilogram of air-freighted green beans emits as much as 177 kilograms of sea-freighted green beans).

Part of the targeted initiatives by the NHT include building the capacity of producers of horticultural products to utilize sustainable processes including the use of renewable energy in farms, implementing various water conservation methods, and transitioning exports of fresh produce from air freight to sea freight.

Henriette Geiger, Ambassador of the European Union to Kenya said, “We are fully in support of the NHT as we transition the avocado, mango, and vegetable value chains towards more sustainable production processes from farm to fork. This also aligns with our Generation Green Campaign, where we are targeting increased productivity that will stimulate economic development through job creation, but sustainably and inclusively.”

Clement Tulezi, Chairperson, National Horticulture Taskforce said, “We are grateful for the support we have received from the European Union through Trademark Africa. Through their support, we are keen on supporting the implementation of the program’s objectives.”

Tulezi highlighted that through continuous engagements, they will be able to identify relevant interventions and meet the program’s objectives of increasing and diversifying trade in mangos, avocados, and vegetables value chains, reducing trading times and costs by improving efficiency and environmental sustainability of transport infrastructure and enhancing the business climate.”

Earlier in the year, the European Union signed a Euro 25 million (KSh 4.2 billion) agreement with TMA to support the Business Environment and Export Enhancement Programme (BEEEP).

BEEEP is a unique export-oriented value chain ecosystem that will resolve challenges in the mangos, avocados, and vegetable value chains to enhance competitiveness and increase access to identified export markets.

Courtesy; KNA