Post-harvest losses cost Kenya US$578M, spurring cold storage expansion
Commodity data showed a 35% loss in the domestic market, compared with 15% in export channels.
KENYA – Food loss and waste cost Kenya approximately KES72 billion (US$578 million) annually, with 30% to 40% of food production not reaching consumers, according to a 2025 study by the World Resources Institute Africa.
Market research firm TraceData estimated Kenya’s cold chain market at KES40 billion (US$321 million) in 2023, with post-harvest losses exceeding 30% for cold-chain-dependent products, including mangoes and avocados.
Export Sector Resilience vs Domestic Market Losses
Commodity data showed a 35% loss in the domestic market, compared with 15% in export channels. By contrast, mango losses ranged from 17% to 56%, depending on post-harvest handling systems, while potato losses were estimated at 19% to 23%, representing annual losses of KES12.9 billion (US$104 million).
Despite lower production, Kenya’s avocado export volumes rose to approximately 128,000 tonnes, with export value up 11% to US$159 million. The report attributed the export performance to superior post-harvest infrastructure, including packhouses, pre-cooling systems, reefer transport, and grading operations.
Large-Scale Facilities and Modular Expansion
Cold Solutions Kenya opened a 15,000-square-metre cold storage facility at Tatu City in 2023 as part of a wider KES7.5 billion (US$60 million) investment programme covering Nairobi and Mombasa. The facility operates across a temperature range of +26°C to -40°C and currently has a capacity of approximately 20,000 pallets.
In January 2026, the company secured an additional US$19 million in funding to expand its operations in Mombasa.
The broader ARCH Cold Chain Solutions East Africa Fund programme targets 100,000 tonnes of cold storage capacity across facilities planned in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia.
Airport Cold Storage and Modular Units
At Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Swissport added a 750-square-metre cold store directly connected to airside operations. The facility handles perishables, including fresh-cut flowers exported to Europe, and is equipped with vacuum-cooling systems that can reduce pallet temperatures from 24°C to 2°C in 22 minutes.
Smaller-scale cold chain projects are also expanding through county-level initiatives, including modular cold rooms. These modular units provide a scalable way to reduce losses at the source.
As Kenya continues to ramp up cold chain investment, the gap between export-grade and domestic handling systems must narrow to capture the full economic value of the nation’s agricultural output and to stabilize food security.
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