By Antynet Ford and Francis Ndungu

Two of Kenya’s earliest and best-known dragonfruit growers are now moving into value addition as domestic prices fall sharply from the highs of 2022.

Antony Mugambi in Tharaka Nithi and Priscilla Nyairia in Laikipia, who between them farm 30 acres of dragonfruit, said that while the fruit still earns more than any other irrigated semi-arid crop, a surge in new plantings has pushed down fresh fruit prices.

Kenya’s largest supermarket chain, Naivas, now lists fresh dragonfruit at about Sh759 per kilo, where it was selling at Sh800 to Sh1,500 per kilo in Nairobi stores in 2022. Now, online farm produce sites are quoting Sh300–600 per kilo retail and 30–40 per cent less at wholesale. 

International produce price trackers put the local retail range even lower, at Sh136–601 per kilo. 

Priscilla, who started with two acres in 2020 and now has 10 acres, said her wholesale price is now Sh350 per kilo and retail Sh500 per kilo, down from Sh1,000 per kilo when she began. 

“Many people have ventured into dragonfruit, hence the drop in prices, but still, the demand is high,” she said. She niw plans to powder the fruit for smoothies, baking, and protein supplements. “We anticipate it to go beyond Sh1,000 per kilogram when we shift to value addition. Powder also increases shelf life and makes exporting easier,” she said.

Antony, who grows 20 acres of red and white-fleshed varieties, sold at Sh1,500 per kilo and Sh1,000 per kilo respectively in 2022. He is also now building a value-addition plant at his farm making juice from the fruit. “The facility will aid in value chain where I’m intending to add value to my fruit, which will help me fetch a better market,” he said. He previously exported fresh fruit, but now sells locally, due to strong domestic demand and the challenges of export compliance.

Even at current prices, dragonfruit is earning more per acre than other semi-arid crops, earning from Sh1.75m to Sh5m an acre for a mature crop that is yielding 5 to 10 tonnes of fruit per year.

That compares well to pawpaw, which can earn Sh300,000 to Sh1m per acre per year, or mango at Sh200,000 at Sh600,000.

However, in the last two years, large numbers of farmers have planted dragonfruit seedlings. Most are still developing and not yet producing fruit. But the Kenya Dragon Fruit Farmers Network now has some 22,000 members, up from just a handful a few years ago. This sharp increase in farmers means production will rise over the next two years, which is likely to cause further drops in prices. 

There is still unmet demand. Antony says he turned down buyers from Italy and Jordan because he couldn’t supply enough  But most export markets require stringent growing and certification processes.

For both Priscilla and Antony organic farming is a selling point. They use irrigation and organic manure, and control pests such as fruit flies, birds and monkeys using traps, decoy crops and guards. 

Dragonfruit is a climbing cactus that is well suited to semi-arid regions with irrigation, requiring less water than most fruit crops and producing for up to 20 years.

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