NAIROBI: Kenya registered a significant increase in mango production across the 2015/2016 season compared to the previous season, witnessing an increase of 27% on season-to-season basis. Mangos From Kenya reported 30% jump in exports, largely attributed to their intense continuous training that guides farmers to plant and maintain mangoes professionally in order to meet stringent quality standards at the destination markets.
“At the moment we are directing 90% of our earnings to our farmer care program which is a rigorous project intended to ensure that farmers in our network get it 100% right on what kind of mangoes the export market need. This is very important to us because we can only claim to be in business when we are giving the customers what they want”, says Louis Matheka, Sales Manager of Mangos From Kenya
Kenya’s mango season starts officially in November-December and runs all the way to March-April each year. The country still produces some mangoes outside this period though in small quantities, best for clients who may not be necessarily interested in huge volumes.
According to Lydia Mueni, an agronomist with Mangos From Kenya company, statistics from International Trade Centre (ITC) indicate that Kenya has seen over 400% increase in mango exports over a period of the last 5 years, with a comparable trend being seen between 2007 and 2012.
“The bulk of our exports are to the established Middle East market countries such as United Arab Emirates that currently takes a 56% share of our exports, followed by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and then Qatar in that order,” says Mueni.
