Kenyan media mogul John Kimani-linked Kakuzi to ship second avocado consignment to China

Kakuzi Plc, a Kenya-based agricultural cultivation and manufacturing company partly owned by media mogul John Kimani, is preparing to ship its second consignment of avocados to China, amid a surge in demand for the commodity in Asian markets.

The recent effort to ship the second consignment of avocados to Chinese markets comes after the leading agricultural cultivation company obtained pre-shipment approval from the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS).

“We received the pre-shipment clearance from KEPHIS last week and proceeded to load and dispatch the container to Mombasa over the weekend,” Kakuzi Managing Director Christopher Flowers said.

“The container is expected to leave Mombasa for a 30-day voyage to China,” he said, adding that shipments to China will provide much-needed growth leverage for Kenyan produce and Kakuzi as it seeks to expand its markets and product diversification strategy.

Kakuzi is an agricultural cultivation and manufacturing company that trades on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Avocados, blueberries, macadamia nuts, tea, cattle, and commercial forestry are among the products grown, processed, and sold by the corporation.

Kimani, a leading media mogul and one of the Nairobi Securities Exchange’s wealthiest investors, owns 32.3 percent of Kakuzi. He also owns significant stakes in Centum Investments and Nation Media Group.

In line with the KEPHIS approval and the company’s decision to help meet local market demand, Kakuzi announced that it will ship several 20-foot container loads of Hass variety avocado to China by sea before the end of this week, as demand for Kenyan avocado in the Asian country continues to rise.

Following a thorough phytosanitary inspection of its farms and packing facility, which resulted in Kakuzi receiving approval to process and produce export-grade fresh avocados for the Chinese market, the company shipped its first shipment of the fruit to the East Asian economy in July.

With the signing of numerous bilateral memorandums of understanding, Kenya’s journey to export the delicious fruit to China began in 2018. Through the memorandum, Chinese consumers can now purchase agricultural products from Kenya.