Kakuzi PLC, a Kenyan firm that exports Hass avocados to China and European markets, has announced that its harvest and export activities will not begin until mid-next month.
This is part of the company's commitment to quality assurance, according to a statement by Managing Director Chris Flowers.
The Agriculture and Food Authority's Horticultural Crops Directorate opened the 2023 avocado harvesting season on March 24th, 2023, but urged growers to avoid harvesting immature fruit.
The current crop grown at Kakuzi's Makuyu, Murang’a County Orchards, has not yet attained the necessary maturity and quality standards for international export, Flowers said.
The company is also providing free maturity testing services for smallholder farmers to ensure that only avocados with a minimum dry matter standard of 24 per cent are harvested.
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“Maturity testing has been ongoing with the important parameters of dry matter content being closely monitored on our orchards and affiliated smallholder farmers. Whilst maturity can vary from growing region to growing region at Kakuzi, the minimum dry matter we export at is 24 per cent up to a maximum maturity of 35 per cent, which we reach by mid-September,” Flowers said.
"By measuring that the dry matter content, and hence oil content, is correct before we export, we can provide our customers with the best eating experience of quality avocados. No one wants to buy an avocado you can’t eat. Our dry matter content is only 19 per cent, so we have another month before our fruit reaches an export quality."
According to Flowers, exporting immature fruit would be detrimental to Kenya's national avocado development initiatives and would harm the country's brand value in quality-conscious markets such as Colombia, Chile, and Peru.
The Horticultural Crops Directorate has advised that avocados should be harvested when they attain a minimum dry matter standard of 24 per cent, reducing the fruit's susceptibility to mesocarp bruising.
