Listed superfoods grower and exporter Kakuzi Plc has confirmed plans to double Avocado exports to China following an engagement with Dalian Yidu Group, a major Chinese importer of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Over the weekend, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed firm hosted a high-powered delegation from the Dalian Yidu Group at its Makuyu, Murang’a County, orchards and packhouse, who were in the country on a three-day familiarization visit.
Speaking when he conducted the tour, Kakuzi Plc Managing Director Chris Flowers said the firm is all set to enhance its exports to China once the harvest season opens late next month.
The company, he said, has invested heavily to ensure compliance with the stringent Chinese market demands, including tree-to-plate traceability protocols. To sustain production, Kakuzi has also expanded its Avocado orchards by a further 60 hectares, up from 927 hectares at a Ksh120 million investment cost, to meet the ever-growing demand for quality superfoods globally.
“Kakuzi Plc is strategically positioned to provide quality superfoods for the local and export markets. The visit by the team from Dalian Yidu underscores the importance of quality management systems as such buyers undertake rigorous evaluations to enable them to deliver nothing but the best to their discerning customers,” Flowers said.
During the visit, Dalian Yidu Group Business Executive Laura Xu said the firm is looking forward to interacting with Kakuzi. She confirmed that the Dalian Yidu delegation had been impressed by Kakuzi’s production and quality management processes aligned with the Chinese firm’s supply chain standards.
“Dalian Yidu is proud to be associated with a quality-conscious Kenyan grower such as Kakuzi, producing quality Hass Avocados which are in very high demand in China,” Ms Xu said. “Dalian Yidu has been in the Chinese fresh fruit and vegetables import business since 1988 and has developed formidable international sourcing, cold-chain and related logistical management structure for its fruit and vegetable business.”
Within an operating hub in the northeastern part of China, the Dalian Yidu Group has been importing fresh fruit since 1988. It has established good relationships with leading fruit suppliers worldwide, predominantly from Chile, the US, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and South Asia.
Since its foundation, the Yidu Group, Xu said, has become China’s leading fresh food supply chain manager, whose business scope covers logistics, finance, and trade. The company has created a nationwide logistics network by using major ports across China, including Dalian Port and the Shenyang Distribution Center to cover Northeast China, Zhengzhou Airport and Distribution Center to cover Central China and Guangzhou Distribution Center to cover South China.
The firm’s infrastructure enables the Yidu Group to provide clients worldwide with swift, efficient, low-cost, one-stop cold-chain solutions. Moreover, owing to its rich experience in the fruit industry and its inherent advantages in cold-chain management, the company has successfully introduced dozens of unique fruit brands and agricultural products to the Chinese market.
