In 2017 Mitchell van der Geugten started Jami Trading, specialised in the import of Kenyan green beans, pods and sugar snaps. "We wanted to mainly focus on the beans, but it's moving a lot faster than we expected. We have now expanded the assortment with passion fruit and baby sweetcorn, among others."
Jami Trading carries the green beans, pods and sugar snaps all year round, but no longer only from Kenya. "In the months October to December the price of the beans is absurdly high in Kenya. This is why we spread our wings to Guatemala in those months, where we were able to find a good alternative," says Mitchell.
"It has barely rained in Kenyan in recent months. Thankfully there was some rainfall last week, which meant the prices are starting to go back to normal," says the importer from Amstelveen, who works with weekly prices. "I send my customers the prices for the coming week on Monday morning at the latest, but it's not like those prices are differing by Euros at a time."
In recent months Jami Trading has picked up the import of passion fruit from Kenya. The importer also buys baby pineapple from Mauritius at Christmas time. "They aren't eaten that much, but are used as decoration, as an alternative to a plant as a centrepiece. It's a fun business," laughs Mitchell.
A new development is that the company is also bringing products to the Netherlands in mixed packaging. "Think punnets of 250 grams with pods and baby sweetcorn or green beans and sugar snaps," says Mitchell. Most of Jami Trading's customers consist of Dutch wholesalers, but also wholesalers from Belgium and England are also served and there has been interest from the United States as well.
"After Christmas it is traditionally a bit quieter, but the demand is now picking up again. It is getting busier towards the summer, perhaps driven by the higher salad consumption. As far as this is concerned, Christmas and summer are the peak moments for Kenyan vegetables," says Mitchell.
The importer says they have little problems with competition in the area of the Kenyan vegetables. "I see more trade from Egypt, Ethiopia and Guatemala in the warehouses, so they don't get in each others way. We also try to really define ourselves with our 'fresh-to-door-delivery-concept'. Customers only have to order, we take care of things like quality and logistics. We have a partner in our logistics partner Fairways Logistics in Kenya who is on top of the shipments. We also make contact multiple times. If the quality is slightly less, the vegetables won't go into the plane!"
For more information:
Mitchell van der Geugten
Jami Trading
+31655101683
Mitch@jami-trading.com
www.jami-trading.com