36 Kenyan Fruits and Vegetables Companies Bag Sh235 Million Orders in Virtual Italian Trade Fair

36 Kenyan fruits and vegetable companies are set to rake in $2.1 million (Sh235.22 million) from the sale of the horticultural products in a virtual Italian trade fair.

The companies bagged the lucrative orders during the recently held Macfrut Digital Trade Fair 2020 edition in what points to a huge demand for Kenyan horticultural products abroad.

The three-day fair was held in Rimini, Italy in collaboration with the International Trade Centre and brought together exporters, importers, experts, and technicians to discuss value addition, among other topics. 

The event was initially set to take place in May but was postponed to a later date due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Exhibitors from across the world got a chance to showcase their products and attend meetings and conferences.

“We are happy that even Covid-19 did not stop our Kenyan exporters from interacting with the world on the streets of Rimini and making sales. We will continue following up the exhibitors and update the confirmed orders and delivery for the next 12 months,” said the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency’s chief executive Wilfred Marube.

“Going forward, we are creating an exporters portal for online engagement, meetings, and exhibitions. This one will be a game-changer in promoting our exports since it will ensure that we are not limited by physical distance, space, or even funds to contribute to the growth of exports. It will provide limitless and borderless opportunities,” he added.

The 36 Kenyan horticulture exporters include Biofarm Limited, Dakiem Limited, Food Africa Limited, FreshPlus Limited among others.

Kenya’s key export products to Italy are fruits, cut flowers, live plants, hides and skins, and mollusks.