The main varieties grown in Kenya is a local variety, reffered to as “Kienyeji”, followed by Fuerte variety and then Hass variety, in that order. The Pinkerton avocado variety is also grown in Kenya although in way smaller quantities.

The main areas where avocados are grown in Kenya are the central highlands of Kenya mainly Thika, Muranga, Nyeri, Embu and Meru areas. However, there are other avocado growing zones outside Central Kenya. These include Eldoret, Kisii, Subukia, Nakuru and Naivasha.

Packing of avocados in Kenya is done in 4 kg gross boxes (cartons) with each box holding between 9 and 26 pieces of fruit depending on the size. In the case where the fruits are shipped by sea, the fruits are packed in 4 kg- gross open trays that are firm enough to withstand moisture in the controlled atmosphere (CA) reefers.

The time taken from picking and packaging to reaching the european market via sea is 25 days on average.

The Kenya Cavendish banana is mainly grown in Kenya's highlands especially in Central and Nyanza regions. Just like many varieties of bananas, this variety is non-seasonal hence we supply to our customers all year round.The company has an effective supplier approval and monitoring system to ensure that any potential risks from raw materials (including packaging) to the safety, legality and quality of the final product is well understood and managed.

• Farmers are selected by the respective area agronomist, upon assessing that the farmer is capable of meeting HFL food safety, quality and legality requirements, Upon meeting the HFL criteria for recruitment, the farmer is contracted.
• Monitoring of the farm is done to ensure quality of product meets specifications. Other parameters checked during the monitoring period are, ability to meet service levels and other food safety requirements like farm hygiene, pesticide residues as per the Kenya regulations ,thereafter monitoring is done by the agronomist through farm audits to check the farms compliance to the GlobalGAP standard.
• It is the responsibility of the senior agronomist to ensure that ONLY product from approved sources is received at Hillside Fresh Limited.

Preparing Cavendish banana for export:

1. Pre-surveying of each Cavendish farm/plantation before any harvest is done by Hillside fresh Banana Quality Inspectors.
Each packing line at the selection and weighing center is supervised by one Quality Inspector. The Cavendish bananas are thoroughly checked before being loaded to the shipping containers.
2. An allowance of 14 hours is given between cutting and loading in order to allow for optimum cooling.
3. The fruits are thoroughly inspected by the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate (KEPHIS) to ensure conformity to global quality standards.