Avocado theft is lucrative business in Africa

AVOCADO theft across farms on the continent is on the rise, costing farmers millions of dollars in losses.

The tropical fruit dubbed green gold, is in high demand for its health benefits and beauty properties, but criminals have targeted the fruit as a moneymaker, making off with loot from farmers who are already battling to recover from the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A recent report by BBC News Africa highlighted how Kenya’s avocado sector has become so lucrative that organised criminal gangs have begun to target growers.

According to the report, this is because the fruit from just one tree can pay for the private education of a secondary school student for a whole year – up to $600 (R9 115), according to BBC News.

With the demand for the fruit growing in the US and Europe,

Kenya overtook South Africa last year to become the continent’s top avocado exporter.

Kenya’s avocado trade is still in its infancy, but more and more farmers are deciding to invest in avocados, according to local media.

Last year, the fruit earned

Kenyans farmers $132 million from exporting about 10% of the harvested crop, according to the trade ministry.

Meanwhile, thousands of tons of avocados have been stolen over the past five years in South Africa, according to the South African Subtropical Growers’ Association.

According to reports, the average annual losses in South Africa, one of the continent’s top avocado producers, is around R24 million.

Vigilante groups are now being formed to protect the crop in Kenya, known as “green gold”.

According to reports, as night falls on a fairly large farm in the central county of Murang’a, six young men dressed in thick raincoats and armed with torches, machetes and clubs start their shift, the BBC reported.

They have been hired to guard the farm and its precious avocados, with the workers saying that it is dangerous work – and people can get hurt and even killed.

According to agricultural experts, most of the stolen produce is first-grade fruit meant for export, mainly to Europe, where it can sell to wholesalers for up to €10 (about R172) per kilogram.

South Africa was the world’s sixth-biggest exporter of avocados in 2019, selling fruit worth $70.66million, according to UN trade figures. Mexico ranked first, with $2.78 billion. | African News Agency