Kenya’s earnings from horticultural exports were reduced by 9.7 percent in 2022 on the back of elevated inflation in main markets amid weaker currencies. Revenue from horticultural sales abroad amounted to Sh120.26 billion last year from Sh133.23 billion in the prior year, provisional export statistics indicate. The decline came in a year when the average price growth in the Eurozone — a group of 19 countries that use the euro as a common currency — climbed to 8.35 percent compared with 2.4 percent a year earlier.
Kenyan exporters had complained that the heavy inflation was eroding consumer purchasing power in the Euro area and the UK, the main destinations for cut flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Earnings from the sale of vegetables fell by nearly a quarter to Sh27.34 billion, while the value of cut flowers reduced by 10.21 percent to Sh54.25 billion, according to provisional data collated by the Central Bank of Kenya.
The data shows exports of fruits— which were bolstered by the opening up of China for fresh avocadoes — earned Kenya a modest 4.19 percent more last year to Sh38.67 billion. Europe is the largest market for Kenya’s fresh farm produce, buying nearly three-quarters of the country’s horticultural exports.
[ Sh100 = €0.72 ]
Source: businessdailyafrica.com