Mangoes are critical to the economy of Kenya’s Makueni County, but its exports are still missing out on the lucrative global business. Makueni county contributes up to 31 per cent of the total fruits that Kenya produces.
Exports only amount to two per cent of the total production of 184,000 tonnes produced annually, which is a small fraction.
Part of the reason for slow growth on the export market was because of a self-imposed ban by Kenya in 2010 after experiencing a bout of mango fruit fly.