The tropical climate in Kenya makes it the ideal place to grow year round supplies of herbs. However, this year, climate change has also hit the African nation, bringing unusually cold weather the last few months, with temperatures ranging between 7 to 8 degrees since October.
"Overall, the colder temperatures haven't been too bad for the herbs, with the exception of chives, where we are seeing losses of around 50%, due to lack of vital sunlight. The biggest affect that we notice is that the chives are a little shorter and the growing cycle is lengthened by around 5 days, but luckily the quality of what is available is quite good," shared Innocent Bosire from MintosHerbs.
A large portion of the company's production is currently for mint and basil, which has been less affected by the cold weather, along with tarragon, thyme and coriander.
"We are currently producing 3.5 tons of mint every week and have been looking at new markets to ship our fresh herbs to. We are been very interested in finding new partners in Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Russia for our fresh mint and basil, especially because I think that there could be a lot of demand in these countries," said Innocent.
Innocent said that they have their eyes on expansion next year, and would like to increase their basil production to 400 kg per week of basil.
"We are currently growing our herbs on 15 acres, but we have a lot of opportunity for expansion. We own a 20 acre field at another location in a warmer area, which would make it perfect for growing Basil."
For more information:
Innocent Bosire
MintosHerbs
Tel: +254 717 305339
Email: mintosherbs@gmail.com
www.mintosherbs.com
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Innocent Bosire, MintosHerbs:
"Potential in Eastern Europe/Russia for fresh mint from Kenya"
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