Packaging ahead of shipment
On Friday, November Rwanda will launch its first ever sea freight shipment for avocado, with opening containers carrying 23 Metric tons to Dubai.
The transportation alternative follows reported challenges; expensive airfreights, fragile and unreliable airfreights, and unavailable air transport systems, especially during holiday peak seasons.
According to the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), the avocado market is evolving towards more sustainable and therefore, needs cost-effective transportation chains including sea freight.
The agriculture exports body also says that it will launch sea freight shipment alternatives, diverting from airfreight, in order to seek a long-term business partnership with international buyers.
“In the current production, Rwanda exports 200-250Metric tons of avocados per month. This is primarily for the UAE,” NAEB revealed.
However, avocado export figures are expected to rise rapidly in the coming years because Rwanda has long supported and invested in mass avocado production by providing farmers with avocado seedlings.
Several exporters have planted big areas which are coming into production in 2023. Therefore, it is expected that approximately 200+ hectares will come into production in the coming years, almost doubling the avocado production in Rwanda.
The figures from NAEB indicate that in last five years, avocado export volumes from Rwanda increased from 105.4 Metric Tons (2016/2017) to 2,765 Metric tons (2021/2022) while revenues increased from $37,155 (2016/2017) to $4,533,801 (2021/2022).
The Hass and Fuerte types are the three most popular in Rwanda.
