President William Ruto has announced progress on a bilateral trade agreement with China that could significantly boost Kenya’s agricultural exports.
Speaking at the 1st Murang’a Investment Conference, President Ruto revealed details of his recent discussions with the Chinese leadership regarding the significant trade imbalance between the two countries.
"When I went to China three months ago, and we were shopping for what kind of collaboration we can have with China. I told the president of China that we import Ksh.600 billion worth of goods from China. While they import only Ksh.40 billion of goods from Kenya," said Ruto.Ruto announced significant progress in trade negotiations with China, revealing that a bilateral trade agreement is in the works.
"The good news is that as I talk to you, we are already sending a team to China because China has agreed to a bilateral trade agreement that will see the removal of all tariffs on Kenyan products so that we can expand the market," he added.The head of state expressed optimism about the timeline for concluding the negotiations, stating:
"It is my expectation that by September or latest October, we should have been able to have forged an agreement that will see an expanded market for our avocados, our macadamia, our tea, our coffee, and other agricultural products to the one billion people in China."
