The Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) has announced its plans to simplify import/export trade procedures for avocado (and fish) for the 2021/22 financial year. The aim is to lower administrative costs for traders. Director of KenTrade, David Ngarama, spoke specifically about “reducing the time and cost of trade for the two commodities”.
Kenya, Africa’s leading avocado exporter
As outlined in Farmers Review Africa, avocados represent the biggest source of income for the Kenyan fruit and vegetable sector. In fact, last year the country was Africa’s biggest avocado exporter and among the world’s top 10 producers. Between January and November 2021, avocado farmers earned 14.48 billion dollars.
Having mapped the import/export and transit procedures of 95 products, since 2018 the KenTrade team has been working on simplifying trade procedures. “To date, procedures for the export of coffee, tea, meat & meat products, flowers, nuts & oils, and cotton have been simplified, reducing costs and timeframes for traders, and now we are expanding to avocado and fish for the current financial year,” Ngarama added.
The simplification process has reduced the administrative and cost burden incurred by businesses, saving them a total of 250 dollars, approximately 62% of the total cost.
InfoTradeKenya portal
Meanwhile, the InfoTradeKenya.go.ke portal, managed and overseen by KenTrade, has become an international best practice as regards the facilitation of trade. With over 130,000 visitors in 2021, the portal helped lots of private-sector operators to overcome the hurdles of trade administration procedures.
The InfoTradeKenya portal provides information on all trade procedures at the touch of a button, enabling operators to make substantial time savings. Armed with prior information, traders also receive assistance so they can comply with regulatory requirements for the exportation and importation of goods. The portal is visited by over 10,000 users every month.
