Agriculture Principal Secretary Kello Harsama on Sunday, April 16, announced that he had cancelled the licences of two Kenyan companies following an uproar raised over the exportation of unripe avocados.
While responding to concerns raised by former KTN News anchor Brenda Kerubo, the PS condemned the trend and noted that the government would stop at nothing to tame the exportation of immature avocados.
According to Harsama, the government received a tip-off regarding the matter and visited Embakasi, Nairobi whereby the companies operated.
"We are aware of this and have begun acting on it. Recently I cancelled two import licences for 2 companies exporting immature avocados. I visited pack houses involved in this illegal business in Embakasi," he stated.
Uproar
Former business anchor Kerubo aired her frustrations while purchasing the fruit in Denmark. She noted how the avocados took over two weeks to ripen and ended up ripening in patches or rotting.
"When l arrived in Denmark last August, l was always excited to see Kenyan avocados on the shelves but after a few purchases, my views changed to disappointments. First, they take up to a week or two to ripen.
"Second, they ripen in patches. lt starts with the top and then after 3 days, it spreads out. By the time it is “fully ripe” the top part is already rotten," she added.
The journalist drew comparisons between avocados from South American countries which, according to her, had no defects.
"Avocados from Spain, Colombia, and Peru that l buy tend to have very few to no defects. To be honest, you can never go wrong with these countries.
"Even when you buy five and eat them within the week, you will get the same taste and the fruit ripens uniformly," Kerubo pointed out.
The concerns highlighted different occasions when the government either banned or restricted the exportation of avocados due to farmers not complying with the set standards.
On November 15, 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture banned the exportation of the fruit for three months to prevent the immature harvesting of the fruit.
At the time, the Head of the Horticulture Crops Directorate, Benjamin Tito advised farmers to ensure all harvests were in line with the government's standards.
"In order to safeguard the industry, the directorate undertook a survey to ascertain avocado maturity and projected volumes and found there were insufficient mature fruits in orchards across the country," Tito stated.
