Kwale flags off first 43-tonne seaweed export consignment to Chile
Key points
- Kwale flagged off a first bulk consignment of 43 tonnes of seaweed bound for Chile.
- Source: Kibuyuni Seaweed Farmers Cooperative Society, Pongwe-Kikoneni Ward, Lunga Lunga Sub-county.
- Deputy Governor Chirema Kombo represented Governor Fatuma Achani at the Kibuyuni ceremony.
- Leaders pledged capacity-building and value addition; farmers said they moved from small buyers to a bulk exporter.
Forty-three tonnes of dried seaweed left Kibuyuni this week as Kwale County’s first flagged export consignment to Chile — a small tonnage by global standards, but a large proof-point for coastal farmers who until recently sold only to local small buyers, KBC reported.
Governor Fatuma Achani was represented by Deputy Governor Chirema Kombo at the flag-off for produce from the Kibuyuni Seaweed Farmers Cooperative Society in Pongwe-Kikoneni Ward, Lunga Lunga Sub-county. Kombo congratulated farmers for reaching an international market and said the county under Achani would keep strengthening capacity so the sector creates more jobs. Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries CEC Roman Shera urged producers to support market-expansion programmes and said the county plans value addition so seaweed can fetch better prices.
From kiosk sales to a bulk buyer
Cooperative chairperson Amir Juma thanked the county for support since the project began, saying assistance helped secure a bulk buyer after years of small-scale sales. Vice-chairperson Marinda Bakari and farmer Mariam Ali said seaweed farming has empowered women economically, reducing day-to-day dependence on spouses’ income. Officials present included Tourism CEC Michael Mutua, Water CEC Hemed Mwabudzo and Trade Chief Officer Hassan Ngalaa, among directors and administrators.
For Kwale’s blue-economy pitch, the next facts that matter are repeat consignments, FOB price per tonne, processing investment on the shore, and whether cooperatives retain bargaining power with Chilean or other buyers. Agriculture desk: Agriculture. Verified tonnage, destination, cooperative name and speaker quotes from KBC; multi-year export volumes and contract prices were not published in the same report.
Coastal counties watching Kibuyuni will ask whether Chile is a one-off spot cargo or the start of a scheduled trade lane — and whether value-addition sheds arrive before raw-export margins flatten for local producers.
Based on KBC reporting of the Kwale County seaweed flag-off. Export documents and cooperative accounts control actual shipped volumes and prices.
