Kenya Lets in Ugandan Eggs, Chicken to Avert Trade Wár

Kenya has agreed to lift a ban on Ugandan poultry products including eggs and chicken in a bid to avert a looming trade wàr with Uganda. The ban has been in place since February 2021.

It was introduced ostensibly to protect Kenyan farmers feeling the shocks of the Covid-19 pándemic. After a December 2021 cabinet meeting, however, Uganda announced its intention to list Kenyan agricultural products to be barred from entering their country.

The move was a retaliatory measure to counter what Uganda considers harmful and restrictive trade practices. Besides poultry, Kenya’s ban on Ugandan milk products such as the Lato Milk brand forms the bone of contention.

“We have been too patient. In the past, we have not reciprocated, but now we are going to. This has gone on for too long and within a short time they too will understand what we are going through,” Uganda’s EAC Minister Rebecca Kadaga told journalists on December 13.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya and his Ugandan counterpart Frank Tumwebaze as well as Kenya’s Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina met on Tuesday, December 21 to discuss the situation and later issued a jòint statement.

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They agreed  “to immediately remove any administrative measures that have hitherto inhibited trade in poultry and poultry products,” pointing to the end of the ban on Ugandan poultry in Kenya.

Uganda, on the other hand, will not list banned Kenyan agricultural products as was expected.

Kenya demanded a fresh round of inspections of Uganda milk manufacturers to establish that the milk is sourced locally.

The two countries also pledged to work together to eliminate restrictive levies violat’ing the East African Community (EAC) Customs Union Protocol by July 2022. They had made the same promise earlier this year, in April 2021.

Kenya is Uganda’s biggest trade partner. In 2020, Kenya exported goods to Uganda worth Ksh76.1 billion, while Uganda exported to Kenya goods worth Ksh52.6 billion over the same period.

Among Kenya’s agricultural exports to Uganda are palm oil, sorghum, vegetables and legumes.

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