NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 16— East Africa’s horticulture industry is preparing for a regional push to cut the cost and delays of moving fresh produce across borders, with exporters facing expensive freight, weak cold chains and fragmented trade procedures that threaten the competitiveness of a highly perishable business .

📻 Breaking It Down

Government officials, exporters, logistics companies, technology firms, horticulture associations and development partners will meet in Nairobi on September 22–23 for a regional dialogue aimed at identifying practical measures to ease the movement of horticultural products from farms to markets.

The meeting will also mark the launch of the Horticulture Council of Eastern Africa (HoCEA), a private-sector-led platform intended to give the region’s horticulture industry a coordinated voice in discussions with governments and regional institutions.

The council is being established with national horticulture associations across Eastern Africa and with support from TradeMark Africa.

📌 What You Need to Know

The push comes as producers and exporters contend with a logistics chain in which delays can quickly translate into losses because fruits, vegetables and flowers have limited shelf lives.

High freight charges, inadequate cold-storage capacity, weak first-mile collection systems and delays at ports and border crossings are among the issues expected to dominate the Nairobi talks.

The industry also faces fragmented digital trade systems, differing sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, certification procedures and other non-tariff barriers that can make cross-border trade more costly and complicated.

The logistics challenge extends beyond international transport.

Poor first-mile systems can make it difficult and expensive to move produce from farms to collection points, while gaps in cold storage and handling infrastructure can increase the risk of losses before products reach major markets.

For exporters, border and port procedures add another layer of uncertainty, particularly when different countries apply varying documentation, certification and sanitary requirements.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya