Rwanda accelerates its bet on avocados

September 24, 2026

Rwanda sent a new signal of its intention to gain ground in the international avocado trade. Kumwe Green Farms exported 70 tons to the United Arab Emirates in a single charter flight, bringing together fruit from more than 1,000 smallholder farmers.

The shipment, equivalent to three containers, was carried out with the support of the Value-Added Initiative to Boost Employment (VIBE) program, implemented by TradeMark Africa in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation.

More than for its weight within global trade, the operation is relevant because of the capacity required to bring together production from numerous farmers, sort it, pack it, and meet the requirements of an international buyer within the tight deadlines required by a perishable product.

According to a statement published by TradeMark Africa, the shipment was made possible through the coordination of a network of more than 1,000 smallholder farmers and the strengthening of packaging, quality control, phytosanitary compliance, and export logistics processes.

“This shipment demonstrates that Rwanda’s smallholder farmers can supply an international buyer at scale when production, market access, and logistics are well coordinated,” said Fred Rwigamba, owner of Kumwe Green Farms, in the statement.

An export milestone built from smallholder farms

According to TradeMark Africa, 70% of the producers who supplied the shipment were young women. Fruit preparation also generated around 200 temporary jobs related to harvesting, sorting, and transportation.

At the packing facility, the operation lasted four days and nights and required 64 temporary workers per shift, approximately 90% of whom were women, mainly young women.

The case highlights one of the characteristics accompanying the development of avocados in Rwanda: its growth does not depend exclusively on large production areas, but also on the ability to connect smallholder farms with exporters capable of consolidating volumes, standardizing quality, and meeting market requirements.

“Seventy tons are not simply a large shipment; they are evidence that a reliable export chain can be built from many smallholder farms,” Rwigamba stated.

A small origin growing at a steady pace

Rwanda still holds a small position compared with the main African exporters, but its evolution in recent years shows sustained growth.

According to data from the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) cited by FreshPlaza, exports increased from approximately 840 tons worth US$840,500 in 2019/2020 to more than 4,201 tons and more than US$8.6 million in 2024/2025. Between these two periods, the country multiplied its export volume fivefold and increased the revenue generated by these shipments by more than tenfold.

During the same period, the share of avocados in the country’s total horticultural export revenues reportedly increased from 2.93% to more than 10%.

The progress is significant for Rwanda, although its scale is still far behind the main continental players. International trade data for 2024 show that Kenya exported approximately 129,706 tons; South Africa, 82,784 tons; Morocco, 73,848 tons; and Tanzania, around 32,954 tons.

The figures do not correspond exactly to the same period used by NAEB for Rwanda, but they help illustrate the difference in scale. The country is not yet challenging the leadership of the major African suppliers: it is building the conditions to become a more visible commercial origin.

The supplier landscape in Africa is diversifying

Rwanda’s development is taking place within a continent whose participation in the avocado trade is becoming more diversified.

Kenya, South Africa, and Morocco have established export industries, while Tanzania has increased its production and access to markets. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Tanzanian exports grew by 74% between 2021 and 2023, increasing from 15,432 to 26,826 tons. In November 2024, the country also made its first shipment to China.

In this scenario, Rwanda represents a different scale. Its relevance is less related to current volumes than to the emergence of new production networks, exporting companies, and trade routes in East Africa.

The expansion of these origins is not a homogeneous process either. Each country faces different production, infrastructure, port access, and distance-to-market conditions. In Rwanda’s case, one of the greatest limitations comes precisely from its geographical location.

The logistics dilemma: From air freight to sea routes

Rwanda is a landlocked country, a condition that adds complexity to its exports. In an interview published by FreshPlaza, Seun Rasheed, CEO of Souk Farms, stated that until 2024 all Rwandan avocados exported were transported by air and directed almost exclusively to the Middle East. In this context, the company began developing sea shipments to Europe as an alternative to expanding its scale.

Air freight is the fastest alternative for delivering a perishable product to international markets, but its higher costs make growth toward larger volumes more difficult. Sea freight requires considerably longer transit times, although it can reduce the cost per unit and facilitate larger-scale shipments. Therefore, the development of this route appears to be an important condition for Rwanda to expand its exports beyond occasional air freight operations.

Souk Farms began testing shipments to Europe by sea. To reach the port of Mombasa in Kenya, the fruit must leave Kigali and cross two borders. It then faces a total journey estimated at between 33 and 36 days from the packing facility to the Netherlands.

The company reported that it went from two containers shipped to Europe during 2024/25 to thirteen in the following season. For the next campaign, it projects between 35 and 50 containers. These figures correspond exclusively to Souk Farms’ experience and estimates, but they illustrate the type of logistical transition the sector needs to reduce its dependence on air freight.

The shipment of 70 tons to the United Arab Emirates demonstrates that Rwanda can coordinate fruit from numerous farmers and respond to a larger commercial order. The next test will be turning these milestones into regular programs that are competitive beyond one-off operations.

Quality and standardization as keys to sustaining growth

As volumes increase, fruit consistency becomes another challenge. NAEB has strengthened the instructions applicable to producers, cooperatives, aggregators, transporters, and exporters, emphasizing harvest timing, sorting, packing, cold chain, transportation, and documentation.

The objective is to reduce post-harvest losses and protect the origin’s reputation while seeking to expand its international presence. For an industry built on numerous smallholder farmers, traceability and standardization require controls to be maintained throughout the entire chain.

The shipment to the United Arab Emirates represents a concrete step forward in the production and logistical coordination required to participate in international trade.