Kenyans may soon experience increased costs for cooking oil and soap, after a proposed government import duty of 10% on crude palm oil, an important ingredient in these products.

A recent East African Community gazette notice, dated June 30th indicates Kenya’s intention to impose a 10% import duty on crude palm oil for one year.

This is a change from the previous financial year (2023/2024) when crude palm oil duty imports were duty-free.

“Uganda and Kenya to stay application of the EAC CET rate of 0 per cent and apply a duty rate of 10 per cent for one year, read the gazette notice in part.

In Kenya, crude palm oil is a vital raw material for two major household products: vegetable cooking oil and bar soap.

Despite the government’s withdrawal of the proposed tax hike on cooking oil in the 2024 Finance Bill, Kenyans may still face higher costs due to a potential 10% import duty on crude palm oil, most of which is sourced from Malaysia and Indonesia.

If implemented, the 10% import duty could force Kenyans to spend more on this everyday essential.

564,000kgs of donated fertilizer left Russia for Kenya but ‘never’ arrived!

This potential price increase comes on the heels of complaints from a foreign cooking oil manufacturer earlier this year. The investor criticized Kenya’s unpredictable tax policies, arguing they deter investment.

A foreign cooking oil manufacturer with over 86 years of experience in 14 countries expressed strong criticism of Kenya’s tax policies.

The investor, highlighting his extensive experience, expressed Kenya’s tax environment as the most unstable he’s encountered.

He then urged the government to shift its focus from taxing raw materials like crude palm oil to taxing finished products, arguing this would lower production costs.