Nine countries, a network of national industry associations and a growing list of trade and logistics challenges come together under HoCEA
NAIROBI, September 22, 2026 — Eastern Africa’s horticulture industry has taken a significant step towards building a collective regional voice with the official launch in Nairobi of the Horticulture Council of Eastern Africa (HoCEA). The private-sector-led council brings together horticulture associations from nine countries — Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo — around a common agenda of improving trade, logistics, market access and the competitiveness of the region’s horticultural products.
HoCEA is supported by TradeMark Africa, the European Union, Danida and the Government of the Netherlands, reflecting the growing recognition among development and trade partners that the competitiveness of Eastern Africa’s horticulture sector depends not only on what is produced, but on the systems that move produce across borders and into markets. TradeMark Africa has been working with national horticulture associations around the regional dialogue and HoCEA’s development.
Its launch comes as producers and exporters across the region grapple with challenges that increasingly cannot be solved within national borders: high logistics costs, inadequate cold-chain infrastructure, delays at ports and borders, fragmented digital trade systems, sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, certification procedures and limited access to the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The message from the Nairobi launch was therefore straightforward: Eastern Africa’s horticulture industry needs to coordinate if it is to compete more effectively in global and regional markets.
And HoCEA is not starting from scratch. The idea began taking institutional shape in Arusha in November 2024, when horticulture associations from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda met to explore the formation of a regional council. At that meeting, Dr Jacqueline Mkindi, Chief Executive Officer of the Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA), was elected the first chairperson of HoCEA. The platform subsequently expanded its reach through regional consultations, including an engagement in Entebbe, Uganda, in February 2025, before arriving at its formal Nairobi launch. The institutional make-up of the council is itself significant.
Kenya’s horticulture industry brings to the regional table organisations including the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) and the Kenya Flower Council (KFC), Fresh Produce Consortium and the Avocado Society of Kenya; while Tanzania is represented through TAHA.
Uganda’s horticulture interests include the Uganda Flower Exporters Association (UFEA) and HortiFresh, while Rwanda’s representation includes the Horticulture Exporters Association of Rwanda (HEAR). Ethiopia is represented through the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA). The wider HoCEA network extends to Burundi, South Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the council bringing together apex horticulture organisations from the nine countries. The Ugandan horticulture sector’s own account of the Entebbe meeting identifies HoCEA as an umbrella organisation for private-sector horticulture associations across the region.
Its leadership reflects this industry-led structure
Dr Jacqueline Mkindi, CEO of TAHA, is Chairperson; Clement Tulezi, CEO of the Kenya Flower Council, is Secretary General; while Esther Nekambi, Executive Director of UFEA, is Treasurer. The leadership arrangement was established as the council took shape in 2024–25 and remains central to its regional structure.
For Kenya, the regional platform brings together interests that are already familiar with the different sides of horticulture—from flowers and fresh produce exports to fruits, vegetables and the businesses that support their movement into international markets. FPEAK, for example, represents growers, fresh produce exporters and value-chain service providers, and has been involved in HoCEA’s development from its early stages.
From farm to foreign market
The economic stakes are considerable. Kenya alone exports approximately 467,000 metric tonnes of horticultural produce valued at about US$1.143 billion annually, according to government remarks delivered at the Nairobi launch. Representing Mr Matthew Komen, Principal Secretary, State Department for Trade, the Deputy Director for Internal Trade at the State Department of Trade said the challenges affecting horticultural trade could not be addressed by individual countries or businesses acting alone. “These challenges cannot be resolved by any single country or firm acting alone. They demand coordinated public-private action at the regional level,” he said.
The Government outlined several areas of action to strengthen the systems supporting horticultural trade, including expanding cold-storage capacity along the Northern Corridor and at Inland Container Depots, strengthen single-window systems and electronic cargo tracking, expand the use of Authorised Economic Operator programmes and turn trade agreements into practical export opportunities. These include the EU-Kenya EPA, UK-Kenya EPA, UAE CETA and AfCFTA. There was also a call for Eastern Africa to capture more value from what it produces by moving beyond raw commodity exports into processing, packaging, branding and other forms of value addition.
That broadening of the horticulture conversation is one of the reasons HoCEA matters. The industry is not simply asking how to grow more produce. It is asking how to move it more efficiently, meet changing market requirements, retain more value and negotiate from a stronger regional position.
Dr Mkindi said national associations already bring considerable expertise to the table, but the regional platform provides the collective voice required to address issues that cross borders. Among HoCEA’s priorities are stronger cross-border trade, better access to markets and finance, technology and knowledge, harmonisation of standards and policy positions, and greater investment in the horticulture value chain. Smallholder farmers, women and young people are also part of the agenda.
The logistics question
Development partners supporting the regional horticulture agenda have placed particular emphasis on the systems behind the movement of fresh produce.TradeMark Africa Director of Business Competitiveness Anataria Uwamariya pointed to logistics efficiency, climate-smart and resilient supply chains, digital trade and integration of horticulture into the AfCFTA framework.
The Royal Danish Embassy’s Edwin Chachi called for green logistics and effective cold chains to be incorporated into commercial strategies from the beginning, while the European Union highlighted cold chains, warehousing, SPS compliance, quality infrastructure and the potential for shifting some produce from air to sea freight where commercially viable.
The Netherlands has also been involved in efforts to support the transition towards more sustainable horticulture logistics, including the shift of Kenyan fresh produce from air freight to sea freight, alongside Denmark, the EU and TradeMark Africa.
The Northern Corridor, linking Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to global markets, is consequently emerging as an important piece of the regional horticulture puzzle. For producers dealing with perishable cargo, time lost in a border queue, at a port, in inadequate storage or through a fragmented certification process is not simply a transport problem. It can translate directly into lost quality, lost markets and lost income.
That is why HoCEA has identified five broad priority areas: market access and trade facilitation; cold-chain infrastructure and trade corridors; digital trade, traceability and paperless systems; inclusive value-chain development; and climate resilience and sustainable production standards.
Can nine countries negotiate as one?
The Nairobi launch also brought together industry leaders from Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi for a regional leadership conversation on the question of why Eastern Africa needs a unified horticulture platform.
One answer is market power. The region may be able to strengthen its negotiating position in international markets by aggregating volumes and presenting itself as a more coordinated supply base. But that ambition comes with practical requirements: smoother border procedures, stronger SPS capacity, joint cargo consolidation, better logistics infrastructure and stronger links between smallholders, emerging producers, exporters and international buyers. The two-day Regional Public-Private Dialogue on Horticultural Logistics and Trade Facilitation is therefore intended to go beyond another catalogue of problems.
Discussions are covering AfCFTA market access, cold-chain competitiveness, digital trade, smart horticulture corridors, air-to-sea freight, SPS measures, non-tariff barriers and regional trade facilitation.
The second day is expected to translate the discussions into a Nairobi Horticulture Action Roadmap, followed by consideration of a Nairobi Communiqué setting out priority actions, institutional responsibilities and timelines. For HoCEA, that may prove to be the more important moment than the launch itself. The council has brought together the associations. It has established its leadership. It has identified the issues.
The next question is whether nine countries, speaking through their national horticulture organisations, can turn that collective voice into practical changes in the systems that move Eastern Africa’s flowers, fruits and vegetables from farms to markets.