President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to travel to China next month to sign a deal for exportation of avocados, mangoes and cashew nuts. Uhuru briefed the Cabinet on the intended deal during a meeting at State House on Thursday.
President Uhuru said he will lead a strong delegation of horticultural farmers and traders to China for the first Shanghai Import Expo. A number of trade deals will be negotiated and sealed, he said.
Among them is the Sanitary and Phytosanitary deal between Kenya and China. This will open doors for the exportation of more than 40 per cent of Kenya’s fresh produce to the expansive Chinese market.
China sold goods worth Sh. 390 billion to Kenya last year, reflecting a growth of 20 per cent over the Sh. 337 billion a year earlier, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. In exchange, Kenya sold goods worth Sh. 10 billion to China.
The delegation to China will include horticultural farmers and traders, who will witness the signing of food safety accords expected to open the Asian nation’s market to avocados, mangoes and cashew nuts from Kenya.
In 2016, Kenya exported 26,000 tonnes of mangoes to the Middle East markets of then United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar.
Kenya sells avocados worth about Sh. 240 million to the UK annually. The revival of the cashew nut industry is a key plank of the national government’s efforts to address the plight of farmers, mostly at the coast.
The Sanitary and Phytosanitary deal could lead to China taking up to 40 per cent of Kenya’s fresh produce.
During the Shanghai visit, the President is also expected to sign an MoU for the establishment of a trade negotiation working group. It will be mandated to negotiate trade tariffs especially on Kenya’s tea and coffee exports to China.
“Another expected outcome of the President’s visit to Shanghai will be the signing of an MoU for the establishment of a trade negotiation working group whose mandate will be to negotiate trade tariffs, especially on tea and coffee exports to China as well as explore additional markets for the country’s cash crops,” said a statement from State House.
The Head of State said the agreement will also include exportation of stevia – a sweetener grown in the Rift Valley.
Thank you great lessons from whose who are making it