Eastern African Nations Unite to Launch Horticulture Council, Targeting Trade Barriers and Regional Competitiveness

Horticulture industry players from nine Eastern African nations have formally launched the Horticulture Council of Eastern Africa in Nairobi on September 22, 2026, establishing a unified platform to address persistent trade bottlenecks and strengthen regional market access. The newly formed council brings together national associations from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi. HoCEA Chairperson Dr. Jacqueline Mkindi stated that the initiative is designed to build regional coordination, drive competitiveness, and achieve inclusive growth under a shared mandate to produce nationally, conduct regionally, and compete globally.

Producers and exporters across the participating countries currently face steep operational headwinds, including high freight expenses, chronic border and port delays, and severe deficiencies in cold-chain infrastructure. Stakeholders also pointed to fragmented digital systems, mismatched sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, and divergent certification procedures as major friction points. Post-harvest losses remain a critical vulnerability, estimated between 30% and 80% across various segments of the agricultural value chain. In response, the newly minted council has outlined five core priority areas encompassing market access and trade facilitation, cold-chain corridors, digital trade and traceability, inclusive value-chain development, and climate resilience.

During the launch, public and private sector leaders emphasized that individual states cannot resolve these structural deficits in isolation. Kenya's Deputy Director for Internal Trade, Matthew Komen, noted that Kenya currently exports roughly 467,000 tonnes of horticultural produce valued at US$1.143 billion annually, while actively expanding cold-storage facilities along the Northern Corridor and at Inland Container Depots. Concurrently, HoCEA Secretary General Clement Tulezi drew attention to escalating freight costs, taxes, and levies weighing down the flower industry, highlighting that outstanding value-added tax refunds owed to Kenya's flower sector alone have reached approximately Sh12 billion, equivalent to US$93 million.

Development institutions such as TradeMark Africa and the European Union have joined the dialogue, advocating for optimized logistics, robust quality infrastructure, and accelerated adoption of digital trade systems. The ongoing discussions in Nairobi are slated to generate a concrete action roadmap that defines priority interventions, assigns institutional responsibilities, and sets implementation timelines. By aligning processing, packaging, and branding initiatives with the broader African Continental Free Trade Area objectives, regional producers intend to capture higher margins and retain greater economic value from agricultural output.

Why This Matters

The creation of the Horticulture Council of Eastern Africa addresses the structural fragmentation that has long undermined the region's agricultural export potential. By establishing a unified voice across nine jurisdictions, the council creates a mechanism to harmonize divergent sanitary and phytosanitary rules, which frequently cause costly delays at border crossings. Coordinated policy advocacy can accelerate the alignment of national regulations with continental frameworks, reducing non-tariff barriers that disproportionately impact perishable goods where transit time directly dictates market viability.

From an operational standpoint, tackling post-harvest losses estimated at up to 80% requires synchronized investments in cold-chain infrastructure and collection centers along designated trade corridors like the Northern Corridor. As development finance institutions and private operators look to deploy capital into logistics and digital traceability systems, a centralized regional body provides a predictable counterpart for project structuring. This institutional coordination helps mitigate currency and regulatory risks for cross-border investors while optimizing supply chain resilience against climate shocks.

Opportunities

• Cold-Chain Contractors: Opportunities to design, construct, and equip regional collection centers, packhouses, and temperature-controlled storage facilities along major trade corridors.
• Logistics and Transport Operators: Commercial openings to deploy integrated fleet solutions, electronic cargo tracking, and single-window digital systems to minimize border wait times.
• Financiers and Investors: Prospects to structure agricultural supply chain financing, working capital facilities, and risk-mitigation products tailored for producers navigating delayed tax refunds.
• Digital Integrators: Demand for deployment of blockchain-enabled traceability platforms and harmonized digital certification tools to meet evolving market access standards.

Moto Seen Africa - Africa's View, Seen Clearly

#MotoSeenAfrica #SeenAfrica #SeenNetwork #AfricasView #SeenClearly #SeenInsights #Horticulture #AfCFTA #SupplyChain #Agriculture #EastAfrica