In Kenya's Naivasha, the Vertical Agro Group packhouse is bustling with activity as workers sort and pack fresh produce for shipment to overseas markets. The packhouse is strategically located within an export processing zone linked to the Naivasha Inland Container Depot, a Chinese-built dry port that handles bulk cargo and is part of the Mombasa-Nairobi-Naivasha Standard Gauge Railway. This logistical setup has streamlined the transportation of fresh produce, reducing transit time, freight costs, and emissions.
Hasit Shah, CEO of Vertical Agro Group, recently hosted a group of senior government officials, foreign diplomats, industry executives, and scholars to showcase how China's zero-tariff policy and infrastructure modernization have benefited Kenyan fresh produce companies. In August 2022, Sunripe, part of Vertical Agro Group, became one of the first Kenyan companies to export fresh avocados to China, following a phytosanitary protocol agreement between Kenya and China.
The Naivasha packhouse, which has been in operation for six decades, sources fresh produce from nearby contracted farmers and transports it to the dry port, where SGR wagons cover nearly 600 kilometers to deliver it to the port of Mombasa for onward shipment abroad. This modern railway corridor has been a game changer for players in the fruit and vegetable value chains, reducing transit time, freight costs, emissions, and the risk of damage to produce.
The Naivasha dry port, which spans 45,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 2 million tonnes of cargo annually, serves several landlocked countries, including Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The planned extension of the SGR from Naivasha to Kisumu and on to Malaba, on the Ugandan border, is expected to enable Kenyan horticulture firms to penetrate the regional market.
China's zero-tariff policy, which covers 53 African countries, has come into force on May 1, and Kenyan avocado exporters have welcomed the move, saying it will encourage local firms to add value to the highly nutritious fruit. Kenya is the third-largest avocado supplier to China after Peru and Chile, and in 2025, the country earned $175 million from total avocado exports, with exports to China valued at $6.6 million.
Paul Kipronoh Ronoh, principal secretary in the State Department for Agriculture, noted that other products with great potential for exports to China under the zero-tariff policy include flowers and macadamia nuts. He added that Naivasha is one of Kenya's major horticulture farming hubs, with local exporters using both the SGR and the inland depot seamlessly, translating into lower logistical costs, enhanced market connectivity, and a reduced carbon footprint.
Guo Haiyan, Chinese ambassador to Kenya, said the Mombasa-Nairobi-Naivasha SGR, a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative, has unlocked growth in the rural hinterland through enhanced connectivity. Official statistics indicate that China imported 3,762,776 kilograms of avocados from Kenya worth $6.1 million in May-August 2026, up 63.22 percent year on year in value.
Key points
- China's zero-tariff policy has expanded the market in China for Kenyan avocados.
- The Mombasa-Nairobi-Naivasha SGR has reduced transit time, freight costs, emissions, and the risk of damage to produce.
- Kenyan avocado exporters are optimistic about the growth of the Chinese market under the zero-tariff policy.
