What Challenges do Food and Beverage Exporters face?

Increasingly, food and beverage exporters are facing a variety of challenges, especially when it comes to transporting organic products to international markets. These challenges include Agricultural-Horticultural Development Board, Trade policy, and Logistics issues.

Agricultural-Horticultural Development Board

Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) is not your father's weed sprayer, and he's not a snob. The organisation does a bang up job promoting Great Britain's agriculture industry by supplying essential market information and promoting marketing and innovation. The oh-so-famous AHDB logo is not to be confused with the more pedestrian department of agriculture, which was reborn in 2009 as the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The organisation is responsible for providing the much-needed cash to fund the likes of the country's farmers and horticultural aficionados. The AHDB has a long-standing reputation for providing a well-funded research and development programme which is a veritable goldmine of innovation.

U.S. Commercial Service

Whether you are looking to expand your operations internationally, or you simply want to learn most about exporting food and beverage products, you'll find that the United States Commercial Service has a lot to offer. From helping you determine whether you need an export license, to providing a variety of useful resources, you'll be able to find the assistance you need.

The most important thing to know about exporting is that you need to meet the technical and legal requirements of the country you're trying to export to. You may also be required to obtain a certificate of origin, or to have your goods inspected by customs officials. There may also be foreign labor laws that apply to your business. If you're not sure what those requirements are, you'll want to consult a foreign regulatory authority.

Kenya

Agricultural exports account for a significant share of Kenya's economy, with agriculture accounting for approximately three-quarters of the country's workforce. Kenya's ideal growing climate makes it an ideal food and beverage exporter. However, the country has a limited capacity to meet its domestic food demand. As a result, Kenya relies on imports to cover the gap.

The main agricultural exports are tea, coffee, and vegetables. Kenyan coffee is largely exported to South Africa, while tea is produced in central and western Kenya. Other agricultural products include dairy, fruits, and nuts.

The government's Vision 2030 initiative promotes food security. It also strives to reduce food prices by increasing agricultural productivity. However, productivity remains low throughout the country due to low incentives and underdeveloped infrastructure. This leads to increased demand for imported food.

Logistics issues while transporting organic products to overseas markets

Keeping your wares cold and dry is paramount to success in the industry. This is especially true for organics, which require the use of proper refrigerated trucks and cold chain links to maintain their integrity. These best practices are often a challenge for smaller businesses, which are often restricted to their local sales footprint. Fortunately, new technology can help. One such solution is from Organic Logistics, which has been supplying storage and fulfillment services to organic farms for more than three decades. Aside from storing your goods, the company also offers a host of other services.

One of the company's more high-tech offerings is its "Co-op Partners" warehouse, which specializes in transporting organic produce to organic farmers. This type of operation is often limited to a small number of farms, which can make a big dent in the company's budget.

Trade policy

Among the key questions of interest to food and beverage exporters is how they fare under trade policy. This question was addressed using survey-based research, which allows a comparative assessment of firms in their respective sectors. These types of studies are rarely conducted in the trade literature, but they may provide some insights into firms' experiences with trade.

The most important aspect of trade policy was not only the policy itself, but also its effect on firms' ability to export. Several factors affecting firm decisions on whether or not to export were identified: costs of establishing foreign partners, costs of shipping goods to markets, search costs for overseas markets, and a general slowdown of the economy. However, these factors do not necessarily correlate to each other. In addition, firms reported a general slowdown in the number of export marketing events.