Banana market survey in Nairobi city and its environs, September – November 2000

Banana is one of the best known food crops in Africa. In almost all African agrarian societies, the banana plant stands out as a characteristic feature of a homestead, often used as much for aesthetics as for food in the homestead. It has therefore been viewed as subsistence crop and in many homesteads as belonging to the woman for provision of daily food rations for the family. The commercial value of bananas as a result has often been ignored. A contradiction however exists between the commonly held view of banana as merely subsistent and the reality of its importance as a major food crop as well as its commercial value in the Kenyan market context. The Nairobi metropolis with a population nearing 3 million people provides one of the biggest markets for bananas in the East African region. The value of this market, its structure and organization and its current status in terms of deficit or surplus of supply and potential demand has however not been recorded. The unavailability of this information to players in the banana industry is currently hindering support for banana production. There is a therefore a need for a formal description of the market. This survey was carried out with an aim of describing the banana trade in Nairobi city and its environs in terms of demand, supply and organizational structure of the market. A comprehensive market research of a product is defined as the gathering, recording and analyzing of all facts about problems relating to the transfer and sale of goods and services from producer to consumer. This survey, in its scope and duration cannot be viewed as wholly comprehensive as it does not cover all the facts relating to the banana market in Nairobi. It however does cover most aspects of banana distribution channels, certain aspects of sales analysis, product research and pricing and gives recommendations on the gaps left out by the survey as well as needs of the industry if it is to develop into a sophisticated commercial industry at par with other horticultural crops in Kenya..