Strong prices for Kenyan fruit and vegetables boosted an export trade which dropped in volume but gained in earnings.
Kenya's horticulture export earnings in 2010 rose by nine per cent, earning the African nation 78 billion shillings (£618m).
Volumes were down one per cent with the overall with Romano Kiome, permanent secretary at the Agriculture Ministry telling Reuters “performance was not good overall".
An exporters association put the fall down to the continuing difficult worldwide economy and the flight ban over European airspace caused by the ash cloud from Iceland volcano Eyjafjallajökull.
The flower, fruit and vegetable export sector accounted for 71.6 billion shillings of Kenya’s exports, making the sector the largest foreign exchange earner ahead of tea and tourism.
Earnings were helped by rising prices for foodstuffs, with the United Nations' food agency (FAO) stating that world food prices hit a record high last month.
"Our estimates showed volumes suffered slightly because of weakened purchasing power in most of our markets as well as the disruption to flights early in the year," Stephen Mbithi, the head of the Fresh Producers Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) told Reuters.
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