| ≥1 piece |
Avocado is available throughout the year with majority of production from march to September and smaller volumes from October to February. Two avocado varieties cultivated in Kenya, Fuerte and Hass, which are suitable for export. Among these two varieties, over 80% of the trees are of Fuerte variety because this is the type that was in high demand in the late 1970s and early 1980s when most farmers were establishing their orchards. Market trends have however since changed and what is in high market demand now is the Hass variety. Packaging is mainly in 4kg cartons that retail at between €3.35 - €3.70 depending on the variety and quality type. Current grafting services to change Fuerte into Hass is greatly improving our market positioning of avocado and we anticipate further increased demand. The market for avocados has been steadily growing at a steady rate of between 20-25% for the just concluded 2006-2007 harvest season Afrigarnics total volume exported grew from 1700tonnes in 2006 to 2300 tonnes. Key growth areas can be attributed to online marketing of Afrigarnics through the internet an area of marketing relatively new in Africa but highly effective. Equally contributing to our growth has been an increase in the demand of avocado oil by the cosmetic industry largely in France and Germany. Demand of Avocado for human consumption has also gradually increased but at a slower pace. As for new varieties, trials at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) have succeeded in prolonging the shelf-life of avocados. The new technology slows the production of the ethylene hormone, which is responsible for normal ripening of the fruit, increasing the shelf life of avocados from five to ten days. The technology is already helping to reduce losses of exported fruit. Prolonging shelf-life will also enable increased export of avocadoes by sea Still on new varieties, Afrigarnics is currently experimenting with the Frias variety from Argentina, an avocado which has up to 75 per cent less fat than the usual Hass. We strongly believe these developments will ensure continued growth in the export market.