Horticulture Council of Eastern Africa Launch: Dialogue to Address Trade

• The Horticulture Council of Eastern Africa (HoCEA) will officially launch during a regional public-private dialogue in Nairobi on September 22-23, 2026.
• HoCEA is a private-sector-led platform, supported by TradeMark Africa, aiming to strengthen coordination and advocacy for the East African horticulture sector.
• The dialogue will address critical challenges such as high freight costs, inadequate cold-chain infrastructure, and inconsistent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures.
• Key discussion themes include trade logistics, digital trade, SPS measures, and leveraging AfCFTA for improved market access.
• The initiative seeks to enhance competitiveness and expand opportunities for all stakeholders, including smallholder farmers and SMEs.

The council aims to provide a unified regional voice for the sector, enabling industry players to collectively engage with policymakers and other stakeholders on competitiveness issues.

The Horticulture Council of Eastern Africa (HoCEA) is set to officially launch during a two-day Regional Public-Private Dialogue on Horticultural Logistics and Trade Facilitation. This significant event, scheduled for September 22-23, 2026, in Nairobi, will bring together industry leaders, government representatives, private sector entities, and development partners to address critical issues facing the sector.

HoCEA, a regional and private-sector-led platform, has been established to bolster coordination, advocacy, market access, and institutional engagement within the horticulture industry. It operates in collaboration with national horticulture associations across the region and receives crucial support from TradeMark Africa (TMA). The Horticulture Council of Eastern Africa launch signifies a concerted effort to provide a stronger, unified regional voice for the sector.

The council aims to provide a unified regional voice for the sector, enabling industry players to collectively engage with policymakers and other stakeholders on competitiveness issues. This HoCEA regional public-private dialogue is expected to be a pivotal moment for shaping the future regulatory and operational landscape of East African horticulture.

Horticulture represents a vital contributor to East Africa's economic development, underpinning employment, export earnings, food systems, and private-sector growth. Despite this significant potential, the sector is currently hampered by numerous persistent bottlenecks that impede the efficient movement of horticultural products from farms to domestic, regional, and international markets. These Nairobi horticulture sector barriers result in increased costs, delays, and a reduction in the competitiveness of the region's produce.

Dr. Jacqueline Mkindi, who serves as the interim chair of HoCEA and CEO of TAHA, has identified several key challenges. These include high freight costs, inadequate cold-chain infrastructure, weak first-mile aggregation systems, fragmented digital trade processes, delays at ports and borders, and inconsistent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and certification procedures. Furthermore, the sector has not fully capitalized on the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). These inefficiencies extend beyond large exporters, limiting opportunities for smallholder farmers, women, youth, small and medium-sized enterprises, logistics providers, and national horticulture associations, thereby highlighting the urgent need for coordinated action across both public and private sectors.

The upcoming two-day dialogue in Nairobi is structured around four priority themes, designed to validate existing constraints and identify practical solutions for improving East Africa horticulture trade logistics. The first theme focuses on trade logistics and cold-chain systems, examining the necessary infrastructure, transport, and cold-chain requirements for the efficient movement of time-sensitive products from production areas to markets.

Secondly, discussions will delve into digital trade and smart corridors, exploring how digital systems and smart-corridor approaches can lower transaction costs, enhance information flow, and streamline cross-border trade. The third area addresses SPS measures and non-tariff barriers, with participants analyzing how these requirements and certification processes impact horticultural trade. The objective is to improve efficiency while upholding standards for consumer, plant, and market protection, particularly concerning SPS measures East Africa horticulture. Finally, the dialogue will address AfCFTA horticulture market access and implementation, considering strategies for the horticulture sector to better position itself to access and compete in African markets, leveraging the opportunities for increased intra-African trade created by the AfCFTA.

Lawyers and compliance officers advising clients in the East African horticulture sector should monitor the newly launched Horticulture Council of Eastern Africa (HoCEA) and the outcomes of this dialogue. The discussions on trade logistics, SPS measures, and AfCFTA market access signal potential future policy and regulatory changes that could impact their clients' operations, compliance requirements, and market access strategies.

Source: Original reporting via industry sources