The avocado campaign in Kenya and South Africa is drawing to a close, leaving a large gap in the market, and "a great opportunity for Rwanda, an emerging player in the avocado industry." Seun Rasheed, CEO of SOUK Farms, says that Rwandan exporters will make sure they seize this opportunity.
"The main bulk of the Kenyan and South African campaign comes to an end in end September after 7 months of exports, mainly to Europe and the Middle East. This is a very interesting opportunity for us, Rwandan exporters, as our campaign starts in September. We're intensifying our marketing efforts this year to position ourselves in this window," says Seun.
Avocados from Rwanda are not yet well known on the market, but Seun is confident: "Rwanda is a rapidly emerging origin for avocados. Export volumes are in the order of 3,000 tonnes in 2022. We exported our first container in end of 2022 and more are due to follow in 2023, and the feedback from our customers is very reassuring. The quality is very good, and ripening consistency is easily achieved by clients. Ripening consistency has long been a major issue for some established players in the region. In addition, Rwandan exporters have made significant progress in recent years in the professionalization of operations, and have the necessary export certifications, such as Global GAP and SMETA."
The drop in supply between September and March is a golden opportunity for Rwandan exporters to promote their products and build a loyal customer base, adds Seun. "The reduction in volume of Kenya and South Africa from the market from October onwards leaves a gap of 300-400 weekly containers to Europe alone. That's enough room to position ourselves on the market. At present, Rwandan exporters have a limited capacity of very few containers a week, however this is rapidly changing due with volumes expected to more than quadruple within 3 years to over 10,000 tonnes annually thanks to a large-scale national planting campaign. So far, over a million avocado trees have been planted annually in the last 3 years alone, and we are confident that Rwanda will a major African origin of avocado."
Seun continues, "The main varieties produced in Rwanda are Hass and Fuerte. We are positioned in the slight premium market segment, with fruits of good size and pronounced aesthetic appeal. Yet our prices are very competitive compared with average market prices."
Seun concludes, "Our customers in Europe know and are very satisfied with our flagship products such as French Beans, Habanero, Birds Eye Chilli, Passion Fruit, Sugar Snaps, and Snow Peas. We have made great inroads into the European market with these products, especially in the UK, Netherlands, and Germany. I believe that we also have every chance of breaking into the European avocado market, thanks to Rwanda's great national ambition, the excellence of the fruit, and above all the seasonality advantage, which is to our advantage.
For more information:
Seun Rasheed
Souk Farms
Tel: +447967997368 / +250738306725
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
www.souk-ig.com