Murang'a: Two Murang'a delegations will embark on a mission to search for avocado, coffee, and tea markets in the USA and China. One delegation led by Deputy Governor Stephen Munania will, by the end of this week, tour and meet various investors in the United States of America, anticipating securing a market for coffee and avocado produced in Murang'a.
According to Kenya News Agency, Munania's delegation is slated to hold meetings in the states of Boston and Washington DC on Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, Governor Irungu Kang'ata will lead another team to search for markets in China starting next week. Kang'ata has emphasized the quality of Kenyan coffee, noting that coffee consumption in China is on the rise. Representatives of farmers will accompany the county officials to meet potential buyers from both countries.
"In China, we will search for a market for both avocado and coffee. Murang'a currently leads in avocado production in the country, and obtaining direct markets for our farmers will increase returns," Kang'ata told KNA. He highlighted that China, with a population of 1.4 billion, is the second most populous nation globally and has started adopting a coffee-drinking culture, which could make it one of the largest coffee markets in the world.
Kang'ata also noted that coffee, tea, and avocado are the main cash crops in the county, with thousands of locals relying on them. "Farmers' representatives in the delegation have been nominated by cooperative societies; they will help in securing the best markets from the two countries," he remarked.
The current main markets for Kenyan coffee include Belgium, the United States, Germany, South Korea, and Sweden, among others, most of whom purchase the commodity through the Nairobi Coffee Exchange. The governor emphasized some measures his administration is implementing to increase coffee production, stating that the price of coffee has increased in recent years.
Kang'ata observed that Murang'a, which had previously lagged behind Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Kiambu, and Bomet in coffee payments, has since risen to the second position after Kirinyaga. "The county has also been leading in the tea sector and raked in Sh17 billion in revenue last year while producing 33 percent of the avocados exported from the country," he added.
The governor further noted that after the trip, the county government will hold an investment conference to bring together manufacturers and processors to showcase investment opportunities in the county. "This conference will be held in June. We expect participants to include those engaged in value-addition of the various agricultural products," he said.
Kang'ata urged farmers to increase their production to earn more from the efforts being made by both levels of government to support them. The county has an avocado farmers' association that brings farmers together, while the tea sector is managed by tea factories that contract KTDA as their management agency, and the coffee sector is led through coffee cooperative societies.