The Challenge

Kenya is one of the biggest mango producers in Africa, but farmers may lose between 45-50% of this lucrative crop due to poor handling, pests, and diseases. Supplying the fruit juice industry with mango puree reduces spoilage, while also creating an additional income stream for growers. Puree has a longer shelf life than fresh produce and its semi-liquid quality makes it easier to transport.

Coca-Cola, one of the largest anchor buyers in regional East Africa, compensates for local supply shortfalls at its bottling operations in Uganda by importing mango puree from Kenya, and to a lesser extent, Tanzania. However, shipments to Uganda can face significant obstacles at the border, making supply unpredictable and undermining the aspirations of East African Community (EAC) countries to grow regional and continental trade.

 

What We Are Doing

The Alliance is working in public private partnership within EAC Common Market provisions to create a ‘Mango Hub,’ enabling the frictionless, cross-border movement of mango puree within East Africa.

This project will identify the main obstacles to the cross-border movement of puree and work with relevant agencies and the local private sector, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), many of them women-owned or led, in removing them. The Alliance will leverage the knowledge and expertise of its Global Business Partners, particularly Coca-Cola, in ensuring successful implementation.

The project will involve extensive engagement from public and private sector stakeholders in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, including:

· Government ministries
· Customs authorities
· Regulatory agencies
· Processors
· Bottlers
· Clearing agents
· Coca-Cola (Africa Regional Office)
· CCBA Group
· EAC Secretariat
· African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.

 

The Impacts

Successful implementation is projected to reduce the time and cost of shipping mango puree across the region due to border delays and misapplied levies, while increasing transparency and predictability. The Mango Hub offers prospective growth opportunities for farmers and processors as well as wholesalers and retailers in the region.

Also, by building trust through public private partnership and improving the understanding of implementation challenges for regional free trade agreements, this project also aims to deliver a detailed knowledge dossier to provide greater impetus to future EAC and AfCFTA development.