Del Monte Kenya at 60: New report highlights jobs, exports, Ksh.100B economic impact

The report coincides with the marking of the company’s 60 years of operations in Kenya and brings together what Del Monte describes as its most comprehensive public account to date.

“Del Monte Kenya is proud to share our 60-Year Impact Report, which is the most comprehensive account we have ever produced of what the last six decades in this country has meant in numbers, in lives, in communities, and in the land itself. The scale of the company’s impact is immense, and it moves me when I read it,” said Del Monte Kenya Managing Director Wayne Cook during the launch of the report in Nairobi.

The report, prepared by an independent research firm, draws on company data, economic modelling using Kenya’s Social Accounting Matrix developed by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), supplier surveys involving 40 companies, 35 key informant interviews, site visits, focus group discussions and direct site observations.

According to the report, Del Monte Kenya has supported nearly 20,000 jobs annually across its value chain over the past two decades, while contributing more than Ksh.100 billion to Kenya’s GDP.

“Del Monte Kenya directly employs an average of 6,290 Kenyans drawn from all over the country, with the majority coming from the host counties of Kiambu and Murang’a,” Cook said.

“The number rises to nearly 20,000 annually when you account for the jobs supported by our suppliers, contractors and value chain partners. In practical terms, it means that for every direct job created at Del Monte Kenya, approximately two additional jobs are created elsewhere in the economy. We pay competitive wages that are, on average, 31 per cent above the agricultural sector average.”

The report also highlights the company’s human rights review conducted in 2023, which led to the establishment of a dedicated Welfare, Diversity and Human Rights Department, a formal grievance mechanism aligned with international standards, an independent Speak-Up Line for employees and community members, and expanded training and oversight systems.

“What we celebrate today is not just 60 years of business, but 60 years of livelihoods, opportunity and trust. Because in the end, this story was never just about pineapples. It has always been about people — and that is what we intend to keep building for the next sixty years,” Cook noted.

Del Monte Kenya, a subsidiary of Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc, is Kenya’s largest producer, processor and exporter of pineapple products and fruit juice beverages.

The company said it recorded US$101 million in export earnings in 2024, with exports accounting for approximately 85 per cent of its total production.

At the community level, the company says it has supported 13 schools serving more than 12,000 learners over the last decade.

Its Women’s Health and Empowerment programme has also reached 11,860 women with reproductive health services, surpassing its target by nearly 20 per cent.

The report further highlights the company’s environmental sustainability efforts, including a 91 per cent reduction in water use per tonne of pineapple since 2016 and the planting of 146,901 trees between 2016 and 2023.

The company attributed the progress to deliberate investment in sustainable and people-centred practices.

“We are not just growing pineapples — we are growing a model for what responsible agribusiness can look like in Africa. The investments we are making here in Thika, from biofertilisers to sustainable water systems to circular production, are designed to show that agriculture can be a force for both environmental health and economic development,” said Cook.

Citing ongoing investments, including what it described as a first-of-its-kind biofertiliser production facility and a recently commissioned 807kW solar installation, the company said it intends to continue expanding its sustainability agenda.

“What we celebrate today is not just 60 years of business, but 60 years of livelihoods, opportunity and trust. And that is what we intend to keep building for the next 60 years,” Cook added.