Horticulture: fruit, vegetables and flowers: the sub-sector in figures, avocado, chilli, French beans, macadamia, roses and medicinal cannabis, NAEB registration and the avocado export instructions, RICA phytosanitary certificates under Law N° 041/2026, the EU and UK protected-cultivation protocol, MRLs, GLOBALG.A.P. and organic rules, investment models, cold chain and air freight

The horticulture sub-sector in 2026

Horticulture in Rwanda means the commercial growing of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and flowers, together with herbs, spices and essential-oil crops and the first stage of their processing. The National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), which promotes and regulates agricultural exports, markets the sub-sector under the brand Rwanda Fresh and describes its four key categories as vegetables, fruits, nuts and flowers, grown in all 30 districts across high, medium and low altitudes. Horticulture is a separate pillar of the export basket from coffee and tea, which have their own regulatory regime (Coffee, tea and other export crops).

The sub-sector has grown fast from a low base. According to NAEB figures reported by The New Times on 1 December 2025, horticulture export revenue rose from USD 5.8 million in 2015/16 to USD 86.2 million in 2024/25. Vegetables alone earned USD 53.8 million for 69,330 tonnes in 2024/25, against USD 42.3 million for 61,990 tonnes in 2023/24. NAEB announced in August 2026 that total agricultural exports reached USD 1.1 billion in fiscal year 2025/26 (July 2025 to June 2026), up 24.3% from USD 893 million; it had not published a horticulture breakdown for 2025/26 by 16 October 2026. On the 2024/25 figures horticulture produced roughly a tenth of agricultural export earnings (our calculation). NAEB publishes weekly export data: in the week of 5 to 9 October 2026 fruits earned USD 604,174, vegetables USD 594,215 and flowers USD 110,963, out of USD 13,828,949 for all agricultural exports.

Policy treats horticulture as a growth engine. The fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA5, 2024/25 to 2028/29) sets an avocado export target of more than USD 12.9 million by 2029, and NAEB reported in December 2025 two programmes under way: a smallholder agro-export project to plant 1,700 hectares of orchards (500 hectares of macadamia, 800 of avocado, 200 of mango and 200 of essential-oil crops) in Nyamasheke, Rutsiro, Karongi, Rusizi, Huye, Nyanza, Rwamagana and Bugesera, and a project for chilli and onion with a National Processing Centre in Kigali and four satellite post-harvest centres in Rulindo, Rubavu, Nyagatare and Bugesera. The wider policy stack, the Investment Code's priority sectors and the agencies are described in Agricultural policy, law and regulators.

Crop by crop: what Rwanda grows and sells

Avocado is the fastest-growing fruit export. NAEB reported 9,654 avocado farmers managing 549,074 trees, 73% Hass and 27% Fuerte, with about 88% of trees aged six years or less, so volumes are expected to rise as orchards mature. About half the trees are in the Northern Province, 40% in the Southern and 10% in the Eastern. The United Arab Emirates takes about 90% of exports; smaller volumes go to Belgium, Spain, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Qatar, and NAEB reported in December 2025 that an agreement signed on 12 November opens the Chinese market to Rwandan avocados. Avocado exports are governed by NAEB's own instructions, described below.

Vegetables earn the most. French beans, chillies, broccoli, baby corn, Momordica (bitter gourd and related species) and onions are grown both on company estates and by smallholders under contract. Chilli has a protocol for access to China, alongside stevia and honey. Fresh chillies, baby corn and Momordica destined for the European Union (EU) or the United Kingdom (UK) must now come from approved protected sites, which has turned greenhouse and shade-net production from an option into a condition of market access. Fruit other than avocado includes passion fruit, pineapple, mango and strawberries, and macadamia is being planted at scale under the smallholder project. NAEB lists processed horticultural exports such as pineapple, mango and passion-fruit juice, dried pineapple, dried and canned vegetables, tomato paste and strawberry jam; processed products also need Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority (Rwanda FDA) registration and food-safety compliance, covered in Agro-processing, food safety, contract farming and exports.

Flowers are a smaller earner. Cut roses are one of the four commodities caught by the EU and UK pest requirements for false codling moth and related pests, described below. Essential-oil crops and herbs are produced on a small scale and are one of the targets of the smallholder orchard project.

Medicinal cannabis has its own regime. Ministerial Order N° 003/MoH/2021 of 25/06/2021 relating to the cannabis and cannabis products, made by the Minister of Health under Law n° 03/2012 of 15/02/2012 governing narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors and published in the Official Gazette n° 24 of 28/06/2021, permits cultivation, processing, import, export and use for medical and research purposes only. It creates eight licences, permits and certificates (cultivation, import and export of planting material, processing, import and export of cannabis products, product registration and research), each licence valid for five years and renewable (Articles 5 and 12), requires a security plan approved by the Rwanda National Police with double-layer fencing, watchtowers, video surveillance and a licensed private security company (Article 15), and allows administrative fines of RWF 1,000,000 to RWF 50,000,000, doubled on a repeat (Article 20). When RDB opened the sector to investors in October 2020 it stated that production would be solely for export, and recreational use remains prohibited. The first five-year licence went to King Kong Organics (KKOG) in 2024 for a project in Musanze District, but its chief executive told The New Times in July 2026 that the project had stalled; on 24 July 2026 the Cabinet approved a concession agreement with InipasvalleyRw Ltd for a "High-Value Therapeutic Crops Project" whose crop was not disclosed. Article 7 of Law N° 041/2026 now provides that a Ministerial Order will determine procedures for cultivating plants with psychoactive properties or posing risks to human health or the environment; we found no such Order published by 16 October 2026. We found no separate regime for industrial hemp: the 2021 Order defines cannabis to include seeds for agricultural purposes but authorises activity only for medical and research purposes, so a hemp project should obtain a written position from RDB and the Ministry of Health before investing.

Who regulates a horticulture export: NAEB, RICA and the other agencies

Two agencies matter most. NAEB, established by Law N° 13/2017 of 14/04/2017, develops export markets, registers and licenses exporters, sets quality instructions for particular commodities, runs shared post-harvest infrastructure and publishes export data. Its Online Export Services portal (oes.naeb.gov.rw) handles exporter services. The Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (RICA), established by Law N° 31/2017 of 25/07/2017, is Rwanda's national plant protection organisation (NPPO) under the International Plant Protection Convention: it registers export farms and packhouses, inspects crops and consignments and issues phytosanitary certificates. RICA lists among its services "Registration as Agricultural products exporter", "Registration of farms for exports" and "Application for phytosanitary certificate". NAEB's own exporter pages still say that phytosanitary certificates are issued by RALIS, a body that no longer exists; the certifying body is RICA.

Around them sit the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) for company registration, the investment certificate and environmental impact assessment, the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) for customs export declarations and the certificate of origin process, the Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) for standards such as RS EAS 19:2017 on fresh avocados, Rwanda FDA for processed foods, the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) for extension and planting material, the National Land Authority for leases, and the Districts. Seed, fertiliser and pesticide registration and import, and plant health generally, are covered in Seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and plant health; general export procedure, rules of origin and trade preferences in Agro-processing, food safety, contract farming and exports; and customs in Customs and EAC trade.

NAEB's most detailed horticulture rule is its Instructions for exportation of avocados from Rwanda, signed by the Chief Executive Officer on 28 October 2024 and in force on signature (Article 15). They apply to farms, farmers, cooperatives, aggregators, exporters and public bodies handling avocados for regional and international markets (Article 2), and define an exporter as "a business firm/company registered in Rwanda" (Article 3). Fruit must be intact, sound, clean, free from chilling injury and pests, with a stalk no longer than 1 cm and an "appropriate size (10 to 30)" (Article 5). Physiological maturity is tested by minimum dry matter at harvest: 21% for Hass and 20% for Torres, Fuerte, Pinkerton, Edranol and Reed (Article 6.2). Every export farm must obtain a registration code from the competent authority and source planting material from certified nurseries, every packhouse must have a unique code, records must be kept for at least two years, and an exporter that buys through an aggregator must register the aggregator (Article 8). Fruit is pre-cooled to 7 to 10°C on reception and stored at 4 to 8°C, packed fruit at 5.5 to 7°C, and wooden pallets must be treated and marked (Articles 10.3 to 10.7). Each consignment needs a certificate of origin, a phytosanitary certificate, an invoice and a packing list (Article 8.2).

Article 12 adds conduct rules: every exporter must declare the real price to the competent authority, honour supply contracts with outgrowers and other agreements, and be registered by NAEB with a valid export operation licence. NAEB, RICA, RRA, RAB, the Districts and the Rwanda National Police enforce the instructions, and non-compliance can lead to rejection of the consignment, suspension of the export licence for one month after notification, or cancellation for persistent failure (Article 13). We found no equivalent NAEB instructions published for other fresh produce. NAEB's published requirements for its Export Operation Licence, approved on 01/07/2025, cover emerging agricultural products, including fresh horticulture: a first-time applicant files its TIN, its RDB or Rwanda Cooperative Agency registration certificate, a technical staff certificate, a valid market contract or purchase order, notarised supply contracts with farmers or, for its own farms, a lease or land ownership document with the UPI, any certification the buyer's contract requires and proof of an export handling facility (packhouse or warehouse) in use. Applications go through the Irembo and RDB one-stop centre, and the licence is free, valid for five years and not transferable; an applicant should still confirm current practice with NAEB (toll-free 3800).

Phytosanitary certification under Law N° 041/2026

Plant health is now governed by Law N° 041/2026 of 02/09/2026 governing agriculture, published in the Official Gazette n° Special Bis of 11/09/2026 and in force on publication (Article 110). Article 108 repealed Law n° 30/2012 of 01/08/2012 governing agrochemicals, Law nº 005/2016 of 05/04/2016 governing seeds and plant varieties in Rwanda and Law n° 16/2016 of 10/05/2016 on plant health protection in Rwanda. The Law refers throughout to "the Authority", the State organ in charge of crop variety protection and plant health and of inspecting seeds, agrochemicals and bio-inputs (Article 2(eee)); the Authority is the national plant protection organisation (Article 56), a function performed by RICA, which has published the new Law on its website. The Law contains no transitional provision on the implementing orders made under the repealed laws, such as Ministerial Order N° 012/11.30 of 02/08/2017 on the import of plants for research, inspection and the format of the phytosanitary certificate, and many of its own implementing orders are still to come.

For exports the key rule is Article 68. A person exporting plants, plant products or other regulated articles applies to the Authority for a phytosanitary certificate and provides the import requirements of the country of destination (Article 68(1)); the certificate is granted only for a consignment that complies with those requirements (Article 68(2)); the Authority sets procedures for keeping the consignment's phytosanitary integrity after certification (Article 68(3)); and a Ministerial Order is to determine the format and procedure for the certificate (Article 68(4)). Inspection of produce for export takes place at processing or storage premises approved by the Authority, under regulations of the Authority on such premises (Article 69). Exports and imports are inspected at designated inspection points (Article 72(1)). A Ministerial Order will set fees for import, export and transit services (Article 71). The Law also obliges every farmer to use inputs according to the standards and guidelines of the State organ in charge of agricultural development and to observe the pre-harvest interval on pesticide and fertiliser labels (Article 6), a rule that matters directly to residue compliance in export markets.

Where seeds, plants or plant products fail phytosanitary requirements at any stage, including export, storage or transport, the Authority may seize them, order their return, order their processing or destroy them, at the owner's cost (Article 73). A person who imports or exports plants, plant products or other regulated articles for commercial purposes without a phytosanitary certificate, or adds to a consignment items not covered by the certificate, commits an offence punishable by a fine of 5 to 10 times the value of the goods in his or her possession and those already sold, and imprisonment of one to two years, or either penalty (Article 103). Some press reports of the Law have given different figures for this offence; the figures above are those of the gazetted text. A person dissatisfied with a decision under the Law may file an internal appeal with the deciding organ within 30 days of notification, which must answer within 30 days, and then a hierarchical appeal to the Minister within 30 days, who must also answer within 30 days (Article 106). Article 107 allows the Authority's services to be provided by persons it licenses, which may in time open pre-export inspection to private providers.

The EU and UK protocol: protected cultivation for chillies, roses, Momordica and baby corn

The strictest market rules concern four commodities that are hosts of pests the EU and UK regulate as quarantine pests: capsicums (chillies and peppers), cut roses, Momordica and baby corn. The pests named are false codling moth (Thaumatotibia leucotreta), fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), tomato fruit borer (Neoleucinodes elegantalis), the Solanum fruit fly (Bactrocera latifrons) and Thrips palmi. The EU rules are in Annex VII to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, as amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1134 on fall armyworm and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2004; the UK rules are in Annex 7 to its Phytosanitary Conditions Regulation as amended in 2020. The EU options include an official declaration of country or area freedom, an NPPO-approved pest-free place of production under International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) 10, verified by growing-season and pre-export inspections at an intensity that detects a 2% infestation with 95% confidence, or an effective systems approach or post-harvest treatment. Places of production must be listed with codes notified to the EU or UK in advance, and the codes appear on the phytosanitary certificate as an "Additional Declaration".

RICA has chosen the ISPM 10 route. Its Export Protocols for Capsicums, Cut Roses, Momordica and Baby Corn to EU and UK Markets (Version 00, December 2025, signed on 31 December 2025 by the Acting Director General and in force on signature) state that, given Rwanda's current pest status, RICA issues the Additional Declaration only for consignments grown in officially approved protected production sites, such as greenhouses and shade nets, and that only commodities from RICA-approved pest-free protected sites are eligible for export to the EU and UK (paragraphs 5.3 and 5.4). Open-field chillies or roses cannot therefore be certified for those markets under the current protocol, whatever their quality, and must be sold elsewhere. Produce must be handled in RICA-approved packhouses.

The site conditions are concrete (paragraph 6.4.4): systematic scouting at least two to three times a week by trained personnel with written records; a pest-specific pheromone trapping system at 5 to 10 traps per hectare, checked at least weekly; a 10 to 20 metre vegetation-free buffer zone around each greenhouse or shade-net structure; and at least three official inspections per growing season, with sampling, laboratory testing or soil checks where needed. Detection of a quarantine pest suspends exports until corrective action is verified (paragraph 6.5). Providing incorrect information, including a wrong farm traceability code, may lead to rejection at the packhouse and to suspension from export for one year (paragraph 6.9.4). On a breach RICA may make unannounced inspections and suspend or revoke farm approval; the farmer must submit a corrective action plan within 7 days and RICA conducts a follow-up inspection within 14 days of receiving it, before reinstating the code (paragraph 10). Exporters must also audit their supplying farms, link farm codes to consignments and report interceptions to RICA (paragraph 8).

From planting to departure: certifying a chilli or rose consignment for the EU or UK

1. Declare the export intentionBefore planting, file RICA's Export Intent Declaration Form FPU/FRM/011 (target market, crop, greenhouse or shade net, farm size, planting and harvest dates, packhouse partner), with evidence of the pest-proof structure, by email to RICA's farm-for-export inspection address or at RICA headquarters.
2. Attend RICA's compliance briefingRICA explains the destination's import requirements, the production method, trap types and densities, scouting frequency, and traceability and record-keeping duties (protocol paragraph 6.2).
3. Declare the cropSubmit the Export Crop Field Declaration Form FPU/FRM/021 with GPS location, structures and their size, variety, planting date, projected harvest and yield, seed source and packhouse; the protocol refers to submission at least two weeks after planting.
4. Pass the farm inspection and receive a codeRICA checks crop protection, good agricultural practice, pesticide use, the scouting plan and records, and the absence of quarantine pests; a compliant farm receives a farm traceability code valid for the declared crop cycle and RICA notifies the trading partner where required.
5. Maintain pest freedomScout two to three times a week, keep 5 to 10 pheromone traps per hectare checked weekly, keep the 10 to 20 m buffer clear, and host at least three official in-season inspections.
6. Harvest with a delivery noteHarvest only from coded structures; each load travels to the RICA-approved packhouse with the Field Delivery Note for Export Produce FPU/FRM/030 showing the farm code, produce, variety and quantity, in a clean, covered and preferably refrigerated vehicle.
7. Apply for the phytosanitary certificateApply through RICA's system at least 24 hours before shipment; RICA inspects the consignment at the packhouse under ISPM 12, confirms the farm code and issues the certificate with the Additional Declaration.
8. Clear customs and flyFile the export declaration with RRA, hand over the certificate, invoice, packing list and origin document to the airline or forwarder, and keep all records for audit and for interception follow-up.

Market rules: EU, UK, Gulf and China

European Union. Under Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 on protective measures against pests of plants, fresh fruit, vegetables and cut flowers count as "plants" and need a phytosanitary certificate to enter the EU unless exempted; Annex XI, Part C to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 exempted only the fruits of pineapple, coconut, durian, banana and date palm. Avocados, passion fruit, vegetables and cut flowers therefore travel with a RICA certificate and are checked at EU border control posts. Residues are governed by Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 on maximum residue levels (MRLs): where no specific MRL is set, a default of 0.01 mg/kg applies, and the EU increasingly lowers MRLs to the limit of determination for substances it no longer approves. Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/334 cut the MRLs for the neonicotinoids clothianidin and thiamethoxam to between 0.01 and 0.05 mg/kg on fruit, vegetables, herbs and pulses, including avocados, mangoes, peppers and beans, applying from 7 March 2026, on the stated ground of their global effect on pollinators. Spray programmes must therefore be designed around the destination's MRLs, not merely Rwanda's registered pesticide list. Fresh fruit and vegetables must also meet EU marketing standards, now in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429, which repealed Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011.

Private standards and organic. European supermarkets and most importers require GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance certification for fruit and vegetables or for flowers and ornamentals, often with social-practice add-ons; these are contractual rather than legal requirements but in practice decide access. Organic produce for the EU must be certified under Regulation (EU) 2018/848 by a control body that the European Commission recognises for Rwanda, which has no equivalence arrangement, and every consignment needs an electronic certificate of inspection (e-COI) in TRACES, without which it is not released at the EU port of arrival.

United Kingdom. Great Britain classifies plants and plant products from non-EU countries as high, medium A, medium B or low risk. High, medium A and medium B goods need a phytosanitary certificate issued no more than 13 days before or after the consignment leaves the exporting country; high and medium A goods must also be pre-notified by the importer on the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) at least four working hours before an air consignment lands, and enter through a border control post. In England and Wales the documentary check fee is GBP 5.25 per certificate. The UK applies its own MRLs and the protocol rules above for chillies, roses, Momordica and baby corn.

Gulf and other markets. The United Arab Emirates, Rwanda's largest avocado market, and other Gulf states set their own plant health and residue requirements; because Article 68(1) of Law N° 041/2026 requires the exporter to give RICA the destination's import requirements, the exporter should obtain them in writing from the importer or the destination authority before the season. China admits only products covered by a bilateral protocol: NAEB reported protocols for chilli, stevia and honey and, in December 2025, an agreement for avocados; the conditions of each protocol, including any registration of farms and packhouses, should be obtained from RICA and NAEB before production is planned. Regional and African markets, which take most volumes of some vegetables, are covered by the EAC and AfCFTA rules described in Agro-processing, food safety, contract farming and exports.

Investment models: estates, greenhouses, outgrowers and packhouses

Estate farms. A company leases land and grows under its own management. Foreign investors take an emphyteutic lease, which for agricultural land runs 99 years under Prime Minister's Order N° 008/03 of 03/07/2022, or a State land concession for strategic investment; a foreign holder must apply for renewal at least 90 days before expiry (FAQ 43; FAQ 48). Irrigated State schemes such as the Gabiro Agribusiness Hub in the Eastern Province are let to investors on agreed terms; one exporter reported in December 2025 that it farms 185 hectares at Gabiro and 150 hectares in Kayonza District and Kagitumba and had grown from about 50 to 500 workers. Land, consolidation, irrigation and water permits are covered in Agricultural land, irrigation and water.

Greenhouses and shade nets. For chillies, roses, Momordica and baby corn bound for the EU or UK, protected cultivation is now the only certifiable method, and RICA's protocol effectively sets the design standard: pest-proof structures with intact netting, controlled entry, traps and a cleared buffer zone. Structures on leased land still need the land use to be agricultural and, where a building permit or environmental impact assessment is required by the scale of the works, the usual District or RDB approvals (FAQ 46). Article 9 of Law N° 041/2026 treats post-harvest handling facilities and irrigation as agricultural infrastructure whose establishment, use and management will be governed by a Ministerial Order not yet published.

Outgrower schemes. Most French beans, chillies and avocados come from smallholders and cooperatives growing under contract to an exporter that supplies seed or seedlings, inputs and agronomy and buys the crop at an agreed grade and price. The NAEB avocado instructions require the exporter and outgrowers to have and honour a supply contract and require the exporter to register any aggregator (Articles 8 and 12). Prices paid to Rwandan farmers must be in Rwandan francs, because domestic pricing and payment in foreign currency without permission of the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) is fined, while export receipts may be in foreign currency (FAQ 62). The contract-farming framework, side-selling and cooperative partners are covered in Agro-processing, food safety, contract farming and exports. Because the RICA protocol and EU MRLs attach to each field, an exporter is responsible in practice for its outgrowers' compliance and must build scouting, spray records and traceability codes into the contract.

Packhouses and shared infrastructure. A packhouse grades, pre-cools, packs and stores produce and is where RICA inspects. Investors may build their own or use NAEB's shared facilities: NAEB reported in December 2025 that national packhouse capacity had quadrupled since 2019 and refrigerated trucks had risen from 2 to 28, and in November 2024 it handed over nine cold trucks worth RWF 829 million, co-financed 60% by development partners and 40% by exporters. On incentives, horticulture and other high-value plants on a list approved by RDB are priority sector (10) under Article 4 of the Investment Code; a registered investor exporting 30% to 49% of turnover pays 25% and one exporting 50% or more pays 15% corporate income tax for up to five years; and an investment of at least USD 250,000 allows three foreign employees without a labour-market test (FAQ 9; FAQ 35; Investment incentives). Exports are zero-rated for VAT and unprocessed agricultural products sold locally are exempt; the full tax and finance position is in Agribusiness incentives, tax, finance and insurance.

Cold chain, air freight and sea freight

Rwanda is landlocked and most fresh horticulture leaves by air from Kigali International Airport. RwandAir Cargo offers a perishable product for fresh produce and flowers with priority handling and cold-chain support, under the IATA Perishable Cargo Regulations, and requires bookings at least 96 hours before departure for direct flights and 72 hours for transit flights. On 21 January 2026 NAEB and RwandAir launched direct cargo flights for fresh produce to West and Central Africa, the first carrying 17 tonnes to Brazzaville. NAEB's investor page states that the Government and the Private Sector Federation negotiate preferential air-freight rates for horticulture; no current published rate or subsidy scheme was found.

The cold chain begins at harvest. The avocado instructions require field shade, plastic crates, preferably refrigerated transport, unloading within one hour of arrival at the packhouse, pre-cooling to 7 to 10°C and cold storage at 5.5 to 7°C for packed fruit, and RICA's protocol requires clean, covered and refrigerated vehicles from field to packhouse. Exporters supplying the EU must also keep the consignment's phytosanitary integrity after certification (Law N° 041/2026, Article 68(3)), which means sealed or secured cold rooms and trucks between the RICA inspection and the aircraft.

Sea freight is used for hardier products such as avocados, nuts and dried products, moving by road to Mombasa (Northern Corridor) or Dar es Salaam (Central Corridor) and then by reefer container. NAEB reported in December 2025 pilot sea shipments to Europe and Dubai in controlled-atmosphere containers; air freight still dominates for avocados. Sea routes add transit time and one or two border crossings, so contracts should fix the Incoterm, the point at which risk passes, temperature records and the consequences of delay. Shipping and transit customs procedures are covered in Customs and EAC trade.