The Rwandan government plans to strengthen its partnership with Qatar Airways Cargo to improve the export of its agricultural products. This initiative aims to reduce logistics costs, limit post-harvest losses, and increase producers' incomes..
Rwanda is stepping up discussions with Qatar Airways Cargo to improve the air transport of its agricultural products to international markets. A meeting was recently held between the Minister of Agriculture, Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe, the general director of RwandAir, Yvonne Makolo, and the freight manager of Qatar Airways, Mark Drusch. The objective: find solutions to streamline exports and make freight more accessible to producers.
High costs, long delivery times, and limited loading capacity are currently hampering the competitiveness of Rwandan exports, particularly in the fruit sector. Due to its landlocked location, the country relies almost entirely on air transport for its agricultural exports.
RwandAir, the main national player, still has a limited network and a limited fleet, with a single cargo plane with a capacity of 23 tonnes. The partnership with Qatar Airways could open new trade corridors to Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Fruits are among the flagship products of Rwandan foreign trade, alongside coffee, tea, and pyrethrum. In 2024, fruit exports generated $37,4 million, according to the National Institute of Statistics. (NISR).
The government now hopes to accelerate this momentum as part of its Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture. (PSTA 5), which plans to increase farm revenues to $1,5 billion by 2029.
Improving air freight thus appears to be a key lever for achieving this objective and strengthening the competitiveness of Rwandan products on international markets.
Author: The Editorial Staff
