China has received the first shipment of dried chilli pepper from Rwanda, making it the first African country to launch the product on the Chinese market.
Under the current agreement, Rwanda will be shipping 50,000 tonnes of dried chilli annually for five years.
The first export of 200 kg will be sold to dealers and then offered to customers and food processing companies as samples.
Experts say the business deal is a welcome development for Rwanda as this is capable of expanding its steady growth of chilli exports.
China is home to the world’s largest number of dried chilli pepper consumers. Before now, only seven countries were allowed to export dried chilli peppers to China.
This is not the first time Rwanda exports dried pepper to an international market. Growing mainly in Eastern Rwanda, the crop first came to the coast of East Africa in the 16th century.
The country had previously exported to India, a market exporters say has not been highly favourable due to small cost of the product, which made it a risky business.