Kenya's earnings from fresh produce exports in 2018 jumped to 153.68 billion Kenyan shillings (1.53 billion U.S. dollars), a 33 percent increase over 2017 earnings, according to statistics released on Tuesday.

Hosea Machuki, CEO of Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK), said the sector has remained resilient despite various challenges, from both locally and internationally.

"The cut-flower export still remains the largest earner, contributing more about than 74 percent of the total fresh produce earnings while contribution of vegetables and fruits stood at 18 percent and eight percent respectively," Machuki said.

He noted that flower exports contributed 1.13 billion dollars, growing 37.8 percent from the 2017 earnings.

The industry data also indicated that fruits and vegetables earned 128 million dollars and 276 million dollars in 2018, up from 90 million dollars and 240 million dollars earned in 2017, respectively.

He observed that in 2018, the Netherlands retained its top position as the leading export destination for flowers, with France, United Arab Emirates and Norway also being key markets.

Machuki said that the United Kingdom was the top buyer of vegetables followed by the Netherlands and France.

According to the industry, the leading country destinations for Kenyan fruits exports were Netherlands, Britain, France and the United Arab Emirates.

FPEAK said that the horticulture sub-sector currently employs 350,000 people directly and another one million indirectly.