Kenyan mango farmers hit by post harvest losses, low export demand

Kenyan mango farmers are facing heavy losses this harvest season as weak export demand leaves tons of fruit unsold.

In Makueni county, eastern Kenya, trees are heavy with fruit, but much of it falls to the ground.

"We had a lot of mangoes. So, at the time, we had no place to take our mangoes, so they were just scattered down the trees around the farm." said Dennis Muoki, agricultural extension officer.

Most Kenyan mangoes are sold to brokers, exported, or processed, but this season buyers were scarce.

Kenya produces over 700,000 tons of mangoes annually, ranking fourth in Africa after Malawi, Nigeria and Egypt. The sector, valued at more than $77 million, supports over 200,000 smallholder farmers.

"There was a challenge this particular season because most of the sizes were not very big due to the explained conditions of the drought. What was there, they picked a very little percentage," said farmer Dominic Nduba.

The Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization estimates that up to 45 percent of mangoes are lost due to limited markets and poor handling, highlighting the urgent need for better storage, transport, and processing facilities.

Processors like Iviani Farm are turning mangoes into dried chips and puree for export, but farmers say limited capacity and expensive licensing remain major barriers.

"I think the market is there. But from this side, the only challenge that the producers or the processors are finding hard to access the market is the license part of it. It takes time and also it is expensive," said John Stanley, farm manager at Iviani Farm.