Maersk Strengthens Cold Chain Support for Kenya’s Avocado Peak Season. (Image credit: Maersk)

Kenyan avocado exporters are preparing for a busy peak season with renewed confidence as Maersk rolls out a series of measures to strengthen cold chain logistics across the country.

Announced in Nairobi, the initiative reflects Maersk’s continued commitment to supporting Kenya’s fast growing avocado sector and the thousands of growers and businesses who rely on dependable export routes to reach global markets.

Avocados have become one of Kenya’s most valuable horticultural exports, generating vital foreign exchange and supporting livelihoods across farming communities, packhouses and logistics networks. With international demand rising steadily, maintaining fruit quality from farm to destination remains essential. Maersk’s preparations are aimed at ensuring that exporters can move produce efficiently while preserving the freshness that overseas buyers expect.

The company’s approach combines practical support on the ground with digital engagement. Technical teams are visiting packhouses across key avocado growing regions to conduct focused training sessions. These cover proper handling of refrigerated containers and best practice in cold chain management. By strengthening technical know how at source, exporters are better equipped to maintain correct temperature control throughout transit.

Alongside these visits, Maersk is offering online training and refresher sessions. These programmes guide exporters through customs procedures, documentation requirements and shipping timelines. Updated information on routing options and transit schedules to major markets is also shared, enabling businesses to plan shipments with greater clarity and confidence.

Operational readiness forms another key part of the strategy. Empty refrigerated containers are being positioned in major export zones to ensure availability when volumes surge. Vessel capacity on the Kenya Europe trade route is being prioritised, with additional containers allocated to handle increased demand. Maintaining schedule reliability remains central to the service, helping time sensitive cargo arrive in optimal condition.

Tito Okuku, Managing Director of Maersk East Africa, said, “At Maersk, we recognise that our customers' success is our success. The avocado season is a critical time for Kenyan exporters, and we are committed to providing not just transportation services, but comprehensive support that empowers our customers to meet the world's growing demand for premium Kenyan avocados. Our customer-centric approach means being present, prepared, and proactive, and ensuring that every shipment receives the attention it deserves.”

As Kenya strengthens its standing as a leading supplier of quality avocados, Maersk continues to position itself as a reliable partner through innovation, preparation and close collaboration with the industry.

South Africa sends first stone fruit shipment to China.

South Africa has reached a landmark moment in its agricultural trade journey as the first shipment of locally grown stone fruit sets off for China.

The milestone was marked on 18 February 2026 with a visit to the Freshness First Packhouse in Franschhoek by John Steenhuisen, Minister of Agriculture, joined by Wu Peng, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China.

The consignment includes around 20,000 cartons of premium plums, mainly the African Delight and Ruby Star varieties. This first shipment signals the formal launch of the long awaited stone fruit trade protocol between the two nations, a development expected to reshape South Africa’s deciduous fruit sector and open new opportunities for growers.

Steenhuisen said, “Today, the Chinese market is a strategic necessity, not merely an opportunity for South Africa’s agricultural resilience. This is a milestone that Ambassador Peng and I have worked toward together, and today I am happy that we have realised it.”

The export follows the signing of a bilateral trade agreement granting South African produce zero percent tariff access to the Chinese market. This preferential access strengthens the global competitiveness of local farmers and provides much needed relief at a time when tariffs from other trading partners have placed pressure on certain fruit exports, particularly plums.

China imports agricultural goods worth around 200 billion dollars each year, yet South Africa currently accounts for just 0.4 percent of that market. With exports presently valued at about R400 million, the country aims to double this figure within four years.

Steenhuisen added, “South Africa does have the capacity to provide the quality and quantity of fruit that consumers in China will enjoy. The implementation of this stone fruit protocol will offset the immediate impact of tariffs imposed by other trading partners, particularly on plums. I am confident that our volumes into the Chinese market are going to increase tremendously.”

The stone fruit shipment forms part of a wider expansion plan, with protocols for cherries nearing completion and blueberries expected to follow later this year.

Africa Urged to Safeguard Crop Diversity as Food Security Faces Growing Threats. (Image credit: CIFOR)

Africa is steadily losing the plant diversity that supports its food systems, livelihoods and resilience to climate change, according to the Third Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

The report, released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, was presented during its Africa regional launch in Nairobi on 12 to 13 February 2026. The event was co hosted by FAO and the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry.

The findings paint a worrying picture. Crop varieties, their wild relatives and many wild plants gathered for food are disappearing more quickly than they are being conserved. These resources are vital for helping food systems cope with rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and extreme weather.

Chikelu Mba, Deputy Director of the Plant Production and Protection Division at the FAO, said, “This report shows clearly that Africa is losing plant genetic diversity at a pace that threatens food security, nutrition and the overall resilience of agrifood systems.”

“Crop diversity — including farmers’ varieties or landraces, wild food plants and the genetic relatives of major crops — is essential for developing progressively improved crop varieties needed to climate-proof the continent’s agrifood systems. Yet many of these resources are disappearing faster than they are being protected, meaning their inherent potential may never be fully realised — not for the current generation, and certainly not for those who come after us,” he added.

Across the continent, traditional crop varieties developed and maintained by farmers over generations are fading from fields. Sorghum, millet, yam, rice and traditional cotton are among those at risk. In Sub Saharan Africa, around 16 percent of more than 12,000 locally adapted varieties recorded in 19 countries are now considered threatened.

Éliane Ubalijoro, Chief Executive Officer of CIFOR ICRAF, warned of the wider consequences, and said, “Africa’s food security and nutrition depend on the widest possible diversity of crops, trees and wild plants that farmers and communities have relied on for generations. As climate change accelerates, losing this diversity means losing the very options that allow agriculture to adapt.”

The report also highlights the decline of wild food plants such as baobab, shea and marula, as well as indigenous leafy vegetables widely consumed across Africa. More than 70 percent of assessed wild food plant diversity on the continent is under threat, largely due to habitat loss and climate stress.

Seed collections face risks too. Although about 220,000 samples are stored in 56 African genebanks, only a small share is securely duplicated. “Plant genetic resources are the foundation of sustainable agrifood systems. Without stronger policies, investment and coordination, Africa risks losing irreplaceable plant diversity that supports livelihoods, food security and nutrition, and the ability of farming systems to withstand climate shocks,” Mba said.

“It is the responsibility of governments to establish genebanks and the infrastructure needed to store plant genetic resources. We also encourage farmers to develop seed systems or community seed banks where they can store varieties that are critical to them and adapted to different ecological zones,” said Theophilus Muturi, Managing Director of the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service.

“Conserving and using Africa’s plant genetic resources is not a luxury,” Ubalijoro added. “It is a necessity for resilient agrifood systems in a changing climate.”

Abla Dzifa Gomashie promotes Ghanaian Chocolate. (Image credit: Ghanaian Times)

The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, on February 14 drew attention to the economic and cultural importance of Made in Ghana chocolate as the country marked Ghana Chocolate Day.

Addressing questions on her sector on the floor of Parliament of Ghana in Accra, the Minister used the moment to celebrate Ghana’s thriving cocoa and chocolate industry. She shared locally produced chocolate with Members of Parliament, the Speaker and parliamentary clerks, turning the session into a reminder of the value of supporting home grown products.

In an interview on the sidelines of the event, she encouraged Ghanaians to make a deliberate choice to consume chocolate produced within the country. She described Ghanaian chocolate as more than a sweet treat, calling it “a brand, an identity, and an expression of love for our own products.”

The Minister explained that the local chocolate industry continues to create employment opportunities, particularly for young entrepreneurs and women working across production, packaging and distribution. From cocoa farmers to small scale processors and retailers, many families depend on the sector for their income.

According to her, the steady growth of the chocolate industry has helped households earn stable incomes, pay school fees and take an active role in national development. She stressed that supporting local businesses strengthens communities and builds economic resilience.

She further urged citizens to prioritise goods made in Ghana, noting that spending on imported products drains resources from the local economy. “Anytime you buy something produced outside Ghana, you are sending the money out of Ghana,” she stated, adding that she remains committed to strongly promoting Ghanaian products at every opportunity.

Ghana Chocolate Day is observed each year to encourage the consumption of locally manufactured chocolate, add value to the country’s cocoa and deepen national pride in one of Ghana’s most treasured natural resources.