Kenya’s Avocados: Kenya exported avocados valued at Ksh. 4.26 billion in the first quarter of the year 2021 compared to the same period last year. This is according to data obtained from Horticulture Directorate by ShopaXo.

Buoyed by improved demand, in the global markets, this represented a 93% jump in the exports. The country produces 26,481 tonnes of avocadoes between January and March this year compared to 15,101 tonnes produced during the same period last year.

The jump is attributed to the resumption of export of the popular Fuerte variety on February 15 followed by Hass on March 8 after close to a four-month ban. The Directorate of Horticulture had imposed the ban after the theft of the immature fruit last year.

In what seemed to be a coordinated scheme, cartels stole the fruit and sold it to the international market where the demand for avocadoes continues to remain high. As a result, the Directorate of Horticulture banned the two varieties for export.

Usually, the season of these varieties usually comes to an end at that time pushing in the shortage of the commodity the result being high demand not only in the local market but also globally.

Most of Kenya’s Avocadoes are sold to Europe, Middle East, and Asia as few get into the Chinese market.

More Money

The good money farmers are making on avocadoes has seen farmers abandon crops like coffee, tea, and miraa to cultivate them amid rising demand for the commodity in the international market.

Most of Kenya’s avocadoes are cultivated in the Central, Rift Valley, and Western regions of the country. The Horticulture Directorate Noted,  “There has been an increase in area under cultivation and a shift from the traditional avocado growing zones to the Rift Valley and parts of western Kenya.

Kenya’s avocado exports jumped 15 percent to 68,000 metric tonnes in the last year to October 2020, fetching the country Ksh.14 billion and becoming a foreign currency earner.

Kenya is the 8^th largest producer in the world. Other large producers are Brazil, Peru, Indonesia, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. Mexico is the world’s largest producer.

Kenya leads Africa in Avocado production, while South Africa and Malawi come in second and third respectively.

JSC Sitting Allowance: The Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the commission that is responsible for hiring judicial officials, has over the last week been conducting interviews to fill the position of Kenya’s next Chief Justice(CJ).

The position was left vacant after the former Chief Justice Maranga, attained the retirement age and therefore left the service.

Over the last week, Kenyans have been able to follow the proceeding on TV and already according to many, there already front runners.

However, late last week, the commission received an order to stop the proceeding after one Kenyan went to court to question the proceedings. The commission responded by filing an appeal at the court of appeal.

JSC Sitting Allowance

With the proceeding to get Kenyan’s Chief Justice stopped, ShopaXo has learned that the members of the interview panel are smiling all the way to the bank with the sitting allowance.

For starters, each of the JSC members earns between Ksh. 150,000.00 and Ksh. 250,000.00, which is a responsibility allowance. This is according to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

That is not all, each of the commissioners is also entitled to a special tasks allowance of Ksh. 20,000.00 to Ksh. 25,000.00 each per sitting for disciplinary cases and recruitment purposes.

Moreover, each of the commissioners takes home Ksh.40000.00 per sitting in a country where over 80% of the residents earn less than a dollar a day. With the maximum number of sitting capped at eight, each commissioner could be taking home over half a million shillings.

The JSC sitting allowance is just a side hustle as each of the commissioners has a huge salary from their current jobs.

Among the commissioners, Attorney General Paul Kihara, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, Justice Mohamed Warsame president of the appeal court, take home up to Ksh. 1200000.00

The current chair, Prof Olive Mugenda representing the public has been along serving VC of Kenyatta University( 2006 to 2016) who is currently the Chairperson of the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH).

Cooking Gas Price: From July 1 this year, you will pay at least Ksh.350.00 more for cooking gas after the introduction of 16% value-added tax (V.A.T) on the commodity. This is according to an article published in the Business Daily Newspaper.

This will add more pain to families who are already having to cope with the high prices of electricity and fuel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  

From the article, Kenya Revenue Authority said that it would impose the 16% tax at the start of the next financial year, a move that could push households to use alternative sources of energy amid depressed income.

According to KRA, this is in line with the Finance Act that reinstated the VAT on liquefied petroleum gas. This way to be implemented last year in July but was shelved due to concerns of the high cost of living.

Currently, a 6-Kg cooking gas cylinder which most households use retails for between Ksh. 650 and Ksh. 950.00. The 13-kilogram cooking gas retails at Sh2,250, meaning that it would now increase to Sh2,610 when the new tax measures come into force while the 6-Kg cylinder would go up to Ksh. 1200.00.

Already the government is struggling to keep the cost of living down and expensive cooking gas prices would only add another political headache. This comes barely weeks when the government was forced to have the price of fuel unchanged after public outcry, where half of the price of petroleum fuel goes into taxes.  

Over the past year, cooking gas prices have not changed much despite the volatility in the global crude oil market during the period when petrol prices oscillated between a low Ksh89.10 a liter in June last year to the current high of Ksh122.80.

Since then, households in the country have been enjoying low cooking gas prices after the Treasury scrapped the tax on LPG to cut costs and boost uptake among the poor who rely on dirty kerosene and charcoal for cooking.

According to an email sent to Business Daily, KRA said, “The effective date of the amendment is 1st July 2021. This means that the supply of liquefied petroleum gas will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 16 percent from 1st July 2021.”

Cooking Gas Price Fell

Unlike other petroleum products such as petrol and diesel, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is not controlled and is subject that market forces.

For example, the price of a 13-Kg cooking gas fell to below Ksh. 2000.00 after the treasury scrapped the 16% value-added tax.

In 2010, the energy regulator started controlling the prices of other petroleum products to cushion the consumers from irregular price hikes.

The rise in cooking gas prices is expected to pile pressure on households that are currently struggling to foot daily bills due to job losses and drastic cuts in earnings in the wake of COVID-19.

The Ksh. 350 on LPG prices will be the biggest jump in more than two decades and will see high commodity prices witnessed lastly in 2015.