We are excited to announce a major achievement in Rwanda’s efforts towards value chain transformation: The country has successfully shipped its second batch of avocados to the Netherlands.
More than 1,200 farmers came together to produce a total of 22.4 tons of Rwandan Fresh avocados, which amounts to around 124,000 individual units. These were received at the Port of Rotterdam yesterday.
This important milestone is the result of a harmonious partnership between the Rwandan government and key partners, including the invaluable contributions of IDH. Additionally, two leading export companies, SOUK and Garden Fresh, played significant roles in bringing this project to fruition, showcasing their leadership in the industry.
The Way to European Market: Collaboration
The exporter in Rwanda is SOUK Farms, and local experts from IDH helped with the collection and packaging of the avocados as part of the HortInvest program of the Dutch embassy in Rwanda.
The logistics from the packing station to the port of Rotterdam were carried out by Maersk, and the entire process was supervised and facilitated by Flying Swans.
The container was driven by truck from Kigali in Rwanda, via Uganda through Kenya to the port of Mombasa. This route is called the Northern Corridor and it is Kenya’s objective to also serve the countries in the hinterland of this corridor with the port of Mombasa.
Rwanda has been exporting rapidly growing volumes of avocados to overseas destinations, especially the Middle East. This only happens with air freight, with the exception of one test container that was shipped to Dubai last November. That test container and this shipment to the Netherlands show that it is feasible to export avocados by sea freight from Rwanda.
This achievement represents a significant step forward, as it allows Rwanda to reduce carbon emissions and shipping costs for the European markets while simultaneously opening doors to numerous global buyers for the country’s horticulture sector.
The bigger picture
All these combined efforts were woven together as part of the visionary “Investing in Horticultural Development in Rwanda” (HortInvest). This project, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Rwanda, is a profound commitment to the continued growth and prosperity of Rwanda’s horticulture sector.
