Horticultural Export Licensing in Kenya: HCD and KEPHIS Requirements

Exporting fresh fruit, vegetables or flowers from Kenya involves more than finding a buyer. Horticultural export licensing in Kenya runs through two separate regulators: the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), which licenses exporters and certifies each consignment under the Crops Act, and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), which handles plant health inspection and certification. Missing either step can leave produce held at the border. This guide sets out what the law requires of an exporter.

The Legal Framework

The governing instrument is the Crops (Horticultural Crops) Regulations, 2020 (Legal Notice 118 of 2020), made under the Crops Act (Cap. 318). In those Regulations, the Authority is the Agriculture and Food Authority established under the Agriculture and Food Authority Act (Cap. 317). The Regulations cover registration of nurseries, grower associations and dealers, quality assurance, traceability, import and export certification, and enforcement.

Plant health is dealt with separately. The Plant Protection Act (Cap. 324) allows the Cabinet Secretary, by order, to prohibit, restrict or regulate the import and export of plants and related articles. Such an order may require inspection before import or export and the grant of a certificate as to the result of the inspection (section 8). KEPHIS was established as a state corporation by Legal Notice 305 of 1996 under the State Corporations Act.

Step One: The Horticultural Produce Export Licence

Under regulation 28, a person who intends to be registered as an exporter of horticultural produce applies to the Authority for an export licence in Form 19 of the Second Schedule. The application must be accompanied by:

• a copy of the certificate of incorporation (local companies) or certificate of compliance (branch of a foreign company);
• the Kenya Revenue Authority PIN certificate for the company;
• a valid tax compliance certificate from the Kenya Revenue Authority;
• a copy of a valid business permit;
• copies of identity cards or passports of the directors, and passports and valid work permits for any foreign directors;
• the registration fee in the Third Schedule;
• produce traceability records;
• contracts from contracted produce sources; and
• documents showing that the applicant operates from a registered packing facility.

On receipt of the application, the Authority inspects the farm and issues a farm inspection report if the farm complies with good agricultural practices. It inspects the pack house and, if it meets food safety requirements, issues an inspection report and enters it in the register. It also inspects the transport vessel and issues a report if the vessel meets food transportation standards. The Authority may require the applicant or an authorised representative to attend in person.

Step Two: The Export Certificate for Each Consignment

A licence does not by itself permit a shipment. Under regulation 29, a person who intends to export a consignment applies to the Authority for an export certificate in Form 21. The application must include a copy of the export licence and a copy of the consignment invoice certified by KEPHIS showing the product name, destination, consignee, flight details, unit value with currency and weight in kilograms. For mangoes and avocados, a maturity inspection report is also required. If satisfied, the Authority issues the certificate.

Exporting horticultural produce without an export certificate is an offence carrying a fine of up to KES 300,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both (regulation 29(4)). This is the penalty most likely to catch exporters who hold a valid licence but ship without the consignment-level paperwork.

KEPHIS and Plant Health Certification

KEPHIS certifies the plant health status of the consignment, and its certified invoice is part of the export certificate application. The detail of KEPHIS procedures, such as production site registration and treatment requirements for wood packaging, sits in plant health subsidiary legislation and in KEPHIS guidance, which change over time. Check the current KEPHIS requirements for your product and destination market before you register a consignment. Importing countries impose their own phytosanitary rules, and a consignment can fail at destination even where Kenyan documents are in order.

Traceability and Quality Duties

Regulation 22 requires a dealer in horticultural produce to declare the source of the produce to the Authority, using Form 11 for a farm the dealer owns, Form 12 for produce from contracted growers, or Form 13 for produce obtained from retail or wholesale markets. The dealer must put in place the National Horticulture Traceability System or an equivalent system approved by the Authority, and must not deal with marketing agents who are not registered with the Authority. The same regulation requires a quality management system.

For exporters sourcing from smallholders, this means farm-level records must be accurate across the supply base. The licence application itself asks for traceability records and supplier contracts, so gaps will surface at the first filing.

Returns, Suspension and Appeals

A registered exporter or importer must keep accurate records of transactions and submit quarterly returns to the Authority in Form 23 (regulation 30). The Authority may alter, suspend or revoke a licence or certificate if it considers that the Act, the Regulations or a licence condition has been contravened, and must give the person fourteen days’ notice to make representations first (regulation 34).

A person aggrieved by a decision on the grant, refusal, renewal, variation or revocation of a licence, or on its conditions, may appeal to the Cabinet Secretary within thirty days of first receiving notice of the decision (regulation 31). A contravention of the Regulations with no specific penalty is punishable by a fine of up to KES 50,000, imprisonment for up to six months, or both (regulation 35).

Buyer Standards Are Separate

Many European and United Kingdom buyers also require private certification such as GLOBALG.A.P. These standards are commercial requirements, not licences under Kenyan law, but a buyer can reject supply that does not meet them, so build them into your compliance plan alongside the statutory steps.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information on Kenyan law as at its publication date, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an advocate and client relationship.