This archive report was first published on 7 May 2020.
Thursday, May 7, 2020, marked a significant turning point for food exporters as more airlines resumed flights to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.
European countries, including Italy, Germany, and the UK, have started easing lockdowns, slowly opening their economies after months of restrictions on movement.
This development has led to an increase in demand for fresh produce, particularly fruits and vegetables, as these countries require more food to meet their needs.
The European market, which normally relies on Africa and the US for fresh produce, is now looking to Africa to meet its demands. The US, however, remains largely under lockdown.
British Airways and Singapore Air have resumed flying to JKIA, while other airlines, such as Ethiopian Airlines, KLM, and Kenya Airways, have increased their frequencies.
"We are happy that the capacity for freight is now building up at JKIA, and this will go a long way in ensuring we do not suffer space constraint as well as address the high cargo rates being levied at the moment," said Fresh Produce Consortium chief executive Ojepat Okisegere.
Emirates SkyCargo has also introduced two weekly flights, utilizing the belly-hold capacity on its wide-body Boeing 777-300 ER passenger aircraft to supplement the cargo capacity offered by its freight aircraft from Nairobi and Eldoret.
The increased capacity has added to the existing capacity, which was constrained due to the Covid-19 pandemic that saw several airlines pull out of the route.
Freighters are currently charging between $2.8 and $3.5 per kilogramme of cargo, which is significantly higher than the normal rate of about a dollar per kilogramme.
