Kenya participates in McFruit Digital Trade Fai virtually
Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA) is hosting 10 women exporters who are exhibiting at the Virtual Macfrut Digital 2020 Trade Fair that kicked off yesterday through to Thursday. This is part of the Agency’s strategy of leveraging on technology to push the exports agenda in the face of the global COVID 19 pandemic that has disrupted global trade.
Macfrut Trade Fair, which is in its 37th Edition, is expected to bring together global stakeholders including exporters, importers, technicians, experts and investors in value addition, showcasing current emerging business opportunities in the fruit and vegetable sectors. The fair was postponed from May 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID 19 but thanks to technology, it has kicked off today.
“COVID 19 has changed the way we live, interact and conduct business. Many organizations have had to re-strategize in order to survive through the new norm. As an Agency charged with promotion of Kenya exports in the global markets, we have had to re-look at our promotion models and take advantage of information technology to ensure that we deliver on our mandate. Export promotion is not just about exhibiting. It is also about offering A-Z support to exporters and linking them to markets, and this is exactly what we have done here,” said the Agency’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Wilfred Marube.
The Agency has partnered with International Trade Centre’s SheTrades project, which is an initiative that provides women entrepreneurs with a unique network and platform to connect to international markets. They work across the business ecosystem to facilitate market access for exporters of fresh produce in Kenya and promote the participation of women in exports.
The Agency has made tremendous interventions and assisted the exhibitors prepare for the exhibition through briefings, running a digital campaign to promote Kenya’s participation and profiling the exhibitors at the event to drive traffic to the Kenyan stands. On top of that the Agency is also hosting the exhibitors at our Offices at 1st Floor Anniversary Towers to enable them to participate effectively using our facilities and providing standby support by the Agencies Experts and ITC Representatives.
Macfrut Digital Fair will also provide B2B forums where professionals in the fruit and vegetable sector meet with their counterparts in Italy and in Europe. There will be display of products like agricultural equipment’s, agricultural chemical, farm, and agricultural products and services associated with this field etc. This is the 37th Edition of the annual Macfrut Trade Fair which was to take place in Italy in May 2020 but was cancelled due to the outbreak of global Covid-19 pandemic.
Kenya’s trade with European Union has been stable over years. The market is one of the most dependent for Kenyan exports. In 2019, Kenya’s merchandised exports to Europe were worth a total of US $ 1.4 billion worth and the third-largest destination, after Africa (38%) and Asia (26%). The European market accounted for 25.4 per cent of Kenya’s total exports valued at US$ 5.8 billion. The western European economies of, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom (before Brexit) were the three major exports destinations within the Europe region and among them accounted for 16.7% of Kenya’s total exports in 2019.
Kenya’s leading exports to the European Union have been largely fresh produce mainly vegetables, tea, coffee, fruits and nuts, preserved fruits, tobacco products and canned fruit juices, while Kenya’s imports from European Union have comprised of medicaments, petroleum oils, paper and paper board, Medicinal and pharmaceutical products, arms and ammunition, chemicals, motor vehicles, aircrafts, space crafts as well as parts.
In this Virtual Trade Fair that is happening in Rimini, Italy, Kenya is being represented by the 10 exporters in fruits and vegetables including Biofarm Limited, Dakiem Limited, Food Africa Limited, FreshPlus Limited, Kyula Exporters, Modest Exporters, Mula Export Limited, Saipei Foods Limited, Select Fresh Produce as well as Urban Fresh Ventures.
