Kenya, China ink deal on agricultural produce exports

Kenya and China have now signed formal sanitary and phytosanitary agreements to allow the country’s agricultural produce to enter the Chinese market.

The move will now allow  Kenya producers to export avocados, french beans, legumes (peas, beans & green grams, among others), flowers, vegetables & fruits, herbs, mangoes, peanuts, meat, hides & skins, bixa, macademia, gum arabica and myrr as well as Asian vegetables (chilli and karela), according to State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita.

“After a week of delicate negotiations, formal Sanitary & Phytosanitary Agreements have been signed between KENYA & CHINA for Kenya ‘s Agric produce to enter the Chinese market,” he tweeted on Friday.

“In addition, the two countries have formally launched their technical working group to commence negotiations on expansion of trade opportunities & review of tariff and non-tariff barriers,” added Waita, who doubles as the head of the President’s Delivery Unit.

According to the Department of Trade, the agreements at a bilateral meeting between Kenya’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives and the China’s Ministry of Commerce on the sidelines of the China International Import Expo in Shangai.

The Kenya delegation was led by Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya while the China delegation was led by Vice Minister for Commerce Wang Bingnan.

The agreements topped the agenda of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to China for the Expo during which he met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the Xijiao State Guest hotel in Shanghai.

“Historic signing of the MoU is expected to pave way for market access for Kenya’s agricultural products into the China market that has over 1.3 billion consumers,” the Trade Department noted in a tweet.