The first 52-tonne shipment of “omena” arrived in the Chinese Hunan Province on September 8 from Kenya to mark the start of an export that the government halted early this year.
Changsha customs office in Hunan Province noted that the first batch arrived after a month of transport through the sea and that it is the largest shipment so far.
Omena is produced by fishing communities around Lake Victoria and is a common delicacy in lake region counties.
Chinese snack companies have been importing omena since June using flights carrying a maximum of 315kg per flight to Hunan province before.
The Chinese-based company, Jinzai Food Group which imports the omena, has set a base in Kenya to handle the processing, drying, and packaging of the omena before exportation.
Unlike Kenyans who prefer omena with ugali, Jinzai Food is using omena to manufacture a popular Hunan-flavored snack.
According to reports, Hunan is one of the most active Chinese provinces in terms of trade ties with Africa and is a trailblazer in China-Africa cooperation.
The East Asian economic powerhouse is building an agricultural “Green Channel” initiative to enhance food imports from Africa.
This initiative has seen Kenya reap about Ksh 9 billion over a period of three months from the exportation of avocados to Beijing.
Kenyan imports mostly chemicals, machinery, clothes and electrical appliances from China.
On the other hand, Kenya exports tea, fruits, hides and skins, and titanium among other products.
The second-largest economy in the world has increased its influence in Kenya in the last decades, bagging major infrastructural projects and financing under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Kenya has opted for Chinese market exports, from the traditional European and Middle Eastern markets since it is lucrative earning Kenyan farmers a fortune.
“We have seen a huge increase in terms of demand for exports of our avocado to China. This has boosted the earnings the country is getting from this new market,” remarked Kenya Plants Inspectorate Service, Josephat Momanyi in a past interview.
