East African focus on storage infrastructure to boost fresh produce exports

The East African Community (EAC) member states will scale up investments in modern storage facilities in order to improve hygiene standards of agricultural produce destined for overseas markets, officials said on Tuesday.

Speaking during the launch of a cold chain assessment initiative supported by the U.S. department of Commerce and the East African Community, officials stressed that improved storage facilities will boost export of perishable goods.

Kenya's Industrialization and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed said development of storage infrastructure across the East African region will boost exports of fresh produce, daily products and fish. "Development of cold chain infrastructure will enable countries comply with regulatory standards and ensure perishable goods reach overseas markets in safe and hygienic condition," Mohammed said.

Supported by EAC and U.S. Department of Commerce, the Cold Chain Assessment Initiative roots for development of modern storage infrastructure to improve safety and phsytosanitary standards of agricultural produce destined for the U.S market.

Inadequate cold storage facilities are to blame for huge post harvest losses that pose risk to food security, trade and regional economic growth.

Mohamed regretted that Kenya has not fully exploited its potential to export fish, daily products and fresh produce due to inadequate storage facilities. "An estimated 36 percent of our agricultural produce is lost through poor storage while fishermen and livestock farmers cannot access the overseas markets because their products have failed safety requirements," said Mohamed.

He revealed that Kenya has prioritized investments in cold rooms to improve shelf life of agricultural products.

The East African states have agreed on a raft of measures to improve storage infrastructure. Rashid Kibowa, the Director of Trade, EAC, said policymakers and industry have supported investments in cold storage facilities to minimize post harvest losses.

"Development of cold storage infrastructure is in tandem with our goal to diversify regional economies through value addition and export of agricultural produce," Kibowa said.