Ms Mutheu Kithuma’s had to close her Kenyan tour firm in 2011. However, the closure of her business would open another door. In 2013, she embarked on farming and although she had to face a number of setbacks initially, she has now attained great success and is one of the largest mango exporters in the country.
Kibwezi Agro Limited, which she co-founded, now exports mangoes to countries in the Middle East. Kithuma also buy mangoes from farmers in the area for export. She has planted 10,000 trees of mangoes on her 72 ha farm, making hers one of the largest orchards in the country, with 46 permanent employees. She plans to expand it to more than 20,000 trees in the near future.
The venture has grown tremendously and she is now making a name in the exports business. At the moment, Ms Kithuma is eyeing the lucrative European market where Kenya is scheduled to resume exports starting September.
She says the European market will come as a major boost to her and other farmers given that the earnings from Europe are 20 percent more than what they are getting at the moment from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Middle East countries.
Kenya has been exporting mangoes to the Middle East after the country self-imposed ban to avoid interceptions from European countries, but the returns have been low compared with what farmers would earn from EU states. The move to resume exports to EU has been enabled by the creation of pest-free areas that will see all the mangoes from these areas become free from fruit flies.
Source: businessdailyafrica.com
