The government of Kenya and that of China have entered an agreement that will see 13 Kenyan products enter the Chinese market.
According to the government’s Chief of Staff, Nzioka Waita, the negotiations between the two governments took one week leading to the signing of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreements.
In addition, China and Kenya formally launched their technical working group to commence negotiations on the expansion of trade opportunities and review of tariff and non-tariff barriers.
The list of Kenyan agricultural products that are now cleared to enter the Chinese market are:
- Avocado
- French beans
- Legumes (beans, peas, green grams etc)
- Vegetables and fruits
- Flowers
- Herbs
- Mangoes
- Peanuts
- Meat, hides, and skins
- Bixa
- Macadamia
- Gum Arabica and myrrh
- Asian vegetables (Chilli and Karela)
China has been one of the biggest lenders to Kenya. In January, the country was the largest lender after being surpassed by the World Bank in June. President Uhuru Kenyatta has been in China in an effort to improve the trading activities between the two nations.
Chinese investors also promised to set up a silk company in Kenya that is aimed at providing employment opportunities to at least 300,000 people, most of them Kenyans. Plans to extend the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Nairobi to Nakuru and then to Kisumu are already underway with the Chinese government expected to fund the project.
Most Kenyans have raised concerns over the presence of thousands of Chinese nationals in Kenya with the majority of them taking over local jobs. The government has, however, insisted that the Chinese are only in the country for business and will not allow them to take over jobs that can be done by Kenyans.
Kenyan farmers have welcomed the new deal and calling on the government to ensure that middlemen do not use the opportunity to start exploiting them.