Capitalising on Perishables Trade

There are opportunities galore for logistics providers to enter the refrigerated transportation market in africa given that the continent needs better perishable supply chain services and “farm-to-fork” integration.

Almost a third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted every year. Of these, Sh350billion ($35 billion) worth of perishable foods are wasted annually, with nearly half of those losses due to temperature changes experienced intransit between the grower and the grocer, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Sub-Saharan Africa countries have been found to lose as much as 36 per cent of their harvested food, with up to 94 per cent of these losses due to inefficient supply chains during harvest, processing, and distribution.

According to an industrialisation blueprint released in 2015, Kenya is targeting Sh100 billion (USD1billion) in export earnings from the AGOA market in the next two years and Sh1 trillion (USD 10billion) by the time the renewal expires. The United States is now Kenya’s second most important trading partner, with Kenya’s exports to the US amounting to Sh30 billion last year.

The U.S and Kenya governments are now developing cold chain facilities in the country as demand for perishable exports-imports between the two countries increase.

Coming hot in the heels of a 10-year African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) extension, the Ministry of Industrialisation and US Department of Commerce has launched the Cold Chain Assessment Initiative.

The initiative will assess Kenya’s needs in cold chain infrastructure to ensure it complies with US standards and regulatory requirements in perishable exports.