The EU has seen an increase in fresh passion fruit imports due to rising demand from ethnic markets and growing awareness of the fruit’s health benefits, a market survey has said.
The latest information on the EU market for passion fruit from the Kenyan Horticulture Competitiveness Project (KHCP) also says tropical fruit marketing campaigns are widely reported to be driving growth in the exotic fruit sector.
Consumption of tropical fruit including mango, papaya, passion fruit and avocado has increased slowly but steadily in recent years, and is expected to continue upward in the near to long term.
The report states that there is a strong case for increasing passion fruit production in Kenya due to the increasing demand locally, regionally and in international markets.
Investments in irrigation technologies will help small farmers to achieve year-round production and use more land in semi-arid areas.
The report states: “Various opportunities give Kenya comparative advantages in terms of in-built production experience, favourable climatic variation, well-developed cold storage facilities, current investments in transport infrastructure which will help improve efficiency in the market channels and existing presence in the international market.
“However, for these opportunities to be exploited the issues of quality standards, disease control and pesticide residues need to be addressed with each industry stakeholder having a role to play. An ongoing ban and public awareness of dimethoate use on fruits and vegetables is one intervention at policy level that aims at reducing product interceptions in the EU market.
“The impact of the ban is expected to boost the buyers’ confidence in Kenyan products as well as reduce risks that exporters are exposed to in out-sourced production hence presenting potential for export growth.”
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