From farm to supermarket: the trade in fresh horticultural produce from sub-Saharan Africa to the United Kingdom

In the last 20 years the trade in high value foods (HVFs) such as dairy items, shrimp and fresh horticultural products has become increasingly globalized. HVFs account for over 5 per cent of global commodity trade, one-third of which comes from developing countries (Goodman and Watts, 1997). Just five ‘newly-agriculturalising countries’ (Friedmann, 1993) are responsible for over 40 per cent of HVFs exported from developing countries. Countries such as Kenya, Brazil and Mexico are among the main world producers of HVFs, most of which are destined for developed world markets in North America and the European Union (EU). Increased consumer demand for year-round fresh horticultural products including highly perishable fruit and vegetables such as strawberries, mangetout and green beans has led to a huge growth in imports of these commodities into the EU. Between 1989 and 1997, for example, imports of fresh and chilled leguminous vegetables increased by 133 per cent with a value of €134 million. Three-quarters of imports came from sub-Saharan Africa, with Kenya supplying over a third of EU imports of leguminous vegetables and Zimbabwe accounting for an additional 10 per cent (Stevens and Kennan, 2000).