The Kenyan exports of agriculture to China will now be duty-free, starting from May 1, as confirmed by the government. This was announced by the Agriculture Minister, Mutahi Kagwe, on Monday after he met with the Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Guo Haiyan.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the move will be beneficial to Kenyan farmers and exporters of tea, coffee, avocados, macadamia nuts, flowers, vegetables, and other fresh horticultural crops. This, according to Kagwe, is in line with the talks between Kenya and China during President Ruto’s visit, which also included President Xi Jinping. This will now allow Kenya to access one of the biggest markets in the world without paying duty.
Previously, Kenyan exports to China were subjected to duty, which was between 6% and 15% for tea and coffee, 10% to 15% for macadamia nuts, 10% to 25% for vegetables and other horticultural crops, and 4% for cut flowers. This will now be eliminated, allowing Kenyan exports to compete favorably in the Chinese market, thus improving the income of Kenyan farmers.
The Kenyan government had sought to negotiate a special deal with China, citing that the duty-free market access to China was biased towards the least developed countries in Africa. In the meeting, Ambassador Guo said that China sought to enhance cooperation with Kenya in the area of agriculture through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which will focus on improving market access, value addition of Kenyan agriculture, and improving the level of technical knowledge.
The minister also proposed that Kenyan investors should be encouraged to work with Chinese investors to establish agro-processing industries in Kenya, especially for those products to be exported to China.