NAIROBI, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's vegetable exports hit 24 billion shillings (about 220 million U.S. dollars) in 2020 compared to 248 million dollars, the industry said on Wednesday.
Okisegere Ojepat, CEO of the Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya, told journalists in Nairobi that the east African nation shipped approximately 60,000 tons of vegetables compared to 73,000 tons achieved in 2019.
"The key reason for declining revenues was the reduced market demand due to lockdowns especially in the European Union and Britain in 2020," Ojepat said.
He observed that the continued spread of COVID-19 in the key markets for Kenyan vegetables will also affect the performance of the sector this year.
"We hope that the rollout of vaccines will enable economies to return to normal so that they can consume our produce," he added.
According to the industry lobby, the key vegetable exports include French beans and snow peas which are mostly sold to the European Union and Britain.
Ojepat said that emerging markets for vegetables include the Middle East and Asian nations.
He observed that Kenya earned 167 million dollars from exports of fruits in 2020 compared to 120 million dollars in 2019.
He noted that the east African nation sold over 104,000 tons of fruits overseas last year with avocado and mangoes as key products.
"We are looking to expand our markets for fruit by exploring the United States, north and West African nations which look promising," Ojepat said. Enditem
