Each year, from May to June, the peak harvesting and processing season for avocados begins across Kenya. As Africa’s top avocado producer and the continent’s second-largest exporter, Kenya made remarkable history in 2022 as the first African country to supply fresh avocados to the Chinese market, opening a new chapter for Kenya’s agricultural exports to this Asian country.
On the outskirts of Nairobi, a Chinese-invested avocado oil processing plant bustles with vitality. Local workers deftly sort high-quality avocados designated for oil extraction, while advanced processing and testing equipment ensure that every batch of fruit undergoes standardized, rigorous production procedures. The processed avocados are crushed into crude oil before being exported to China and global markets. When I read about this lively scene of a bumper harvest in the newspaper, my mind goes back to 2016, when I conducted an on-the-ground reporting tour in Kenya and witnessed the full-scale construction of the landmark Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway.
Nearly a decade later, the fully operational railway has evolved into a vital and efficient logistics backbone for Kenya’s economic development. It has created a stable export corridor for Kenya’s premium agricultural products, transporting fresh avocados from local packing houses and refined crude avocado oil from processing plants to global markets. Beyond cargo connectivity, this infrastructure project has strengthened trade exchanges and fostered people-to-people friendships between China and Kenya.
Built with Chinese support, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway has comprehensively upgraded Kenya’s national transportation infrastructure. The project has created tens of thousands of local jobs, nurtured professional technical talents for Kenya’s construction and logistics sectors, and delivered tangible, inclusive development benefits to grassroots communities.
Over the past decade, the dividends of China-Kenya pragmatic cooperation have extended far beyond railway transportation, penetrating deeply into Kenya’s agricultural fields and industrial processing sectors. For a long time, Kenya’s high-quality agricultural products faced a major “first-mile” logistics bottleneck: insufficient transportation capacity hindered the export of seasonal farm produce and restricted the development of local agricultural industrialization. The Mombasa-Nairobi Railway has significantly resolved this long-standing dilemma.
Today, freshly harvested avocados from Kenyan orchards and processed crude avocado oil are transported by rail to Mombasa Port, before being shipped to China via seamless sea-rail combined transportation. This efficient cross-border logistics system greatly shortens transportation cycles, guarantees the freshness and quality of Kenyan avocado products, and significantly enhances the global competitiveness of Kenya’s agricultural exports.
A landmark policy boost further energized bilateral agricultural trade this year. China fully rolled out zero-tariff treatment for all 53 African countries with diplomatic ties on May 1, 2026. That same day, 24 tons of Kenyan avocados cleared customs in Shanghai, enjoying a tariff exemption of 26,000 yuan—a new record for the largest single-batch tariff reduction for this product.
This preferential zero-tariff policy brings comprehensive benefits to every link of Kenya’s avocado industrial chain, covering fruit farmers, bulk purchasers, processing enterprises and export traders. It effectively reduces export costs, expands profit margins, and greatly stimulates the enthusiasm of all market participants, injecting sustainable impetus for the upgrading and expansion of Kenya’s characteristic agricultural industry.
Thanks to the dual support of efficient logistics connectivity and favorable Chinese trade policies, Kenyan avocado products have achieved steady growth in exports to China. From small-scale pilot exports in 2022 to stable large-scale market supply today, Kenyan avocados have firmly secured a solid foothold in China’s consumer market, winning wide recognition among Chinese consumers for their superior taste and quality.
One railway connects the development aspirations of two nations; one avocado bridges the friendship between two peoples. China-Kenya cooperation is not one-sided aid but an equal partnership featuring mutual benefit and resource complementarity. Riding on China’s vast market, advanced technology, and inclusive policies, Kenya’s unique agricultural sector has embraced opportunities, with its industrial chain expanding steadily and local workers reaping real benefits. Meanwhile, the avocado commodities that have crossed the oceans have enriched the dining tables of the Chinese people, offering consumers greater variety.
2026 marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Africa. Since May, a wide array of premium African specialties — crisp South African apples, full-bodied local wines, buttery Kenyan avocados, and zesty fresh Egyptian oranges — have graced supermarket shelves across China at more affordable prices, becoming a regular part of daily life.
China’s proactive opening up of its 1.4-billion-strong market and zero-tariff measures turn its market strengths into new momentum for industrial revitalization across Africa, marking a key milestone in carrying forward China-Africa friendship and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation.
From the steel rails of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway to the thriving avocado trade linking Kenyan orchards to Chinese tables, it is a living snapshot of China and Africa moving forward side by side and a microcosm of the deep, pragmatic cooperation taking shape across the Global South.
Stretching railway tracks carry hopes of development, while fine African agricultural products traverse mountains and oceans to embrace new markets. The journey of every single avocado commodity mirrors the journey of China-Africa ties: pragmatic, people-centered, and paved with endless miles of promise ahead.
The author is a reporter with the Global Times. zhangao@globaltimes.com.cn
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