Grape farming is a gem waiting to be tapped

Sauvignon Blanc grape variety planted in Kenya. Grapes bear fruits twice every year. [Gardy Chacha/Standard]

If you have bought a packet of grapes from your fruit vendor recently, you must have bought it at between Sh250 and Sh300. This depends on where you shop but in most fruit stores and supermarkets, that’s the price range.

Most of the grapes sold in Kenya are imported from South Africa despite the country having potential to grow the crop. By 2016, the global consumption of fresh table grapes was estimated at 20.9 million tonnes, up from about 15.6 tonnes in 2009/2010. A similar trend is also shaping up in Kenya.