The government has said it will remove trade barriers to ease Kenyan products to the China market.
Trade and industry CS Peter Munya said a Technical Work Group (TWG) that will oversee the withdrawal of the four per cent duty on majority of Kenyan exports has been formed.
This comes after Ministry of Agriculture and China’s Customs Department signed a Memorundum of Understanding to drive export of over 40 per cent of Kenya's fresh produce including cashew nuts, avocadoes, mangoes, legumes, flowers, vegetables, beef and natural sweetener stevia to China to reduce trade inequalities.
Munya said the first meeting will be in January 2019 and negotiations completed in February.
He spoke during the official opening of China-Kenya Industrial Capacity Cooperation Exposition yesterday. The expo will be held at KICC from November 14-17.
Kenya’s major exports to China are branded black tea, coffee and leather while the Asian economic giant exports various items ranging from domestic products to commercial machinery and technology. Their market value has been the main reason for imbalance of trade in favour of China.
The TWG will include trade experts, permanent secretaries and would be endorsed by ministries.
"The group with deal with trade issues involved in having products such as avocado get to China through other countries like Britain. It will not be singled out to agricultural products,"
he added.
Munya hailed major investments that have localised technology and work ethic in developed markets.
These include Twyford Limited in Kajiado county, which produces up to 60,000 square metres of floor tiles every day and employing hundreds of Kenyans.
Sunda International Group that established the Kenya Twyford factory invested approximately 30 million dollars, seen as a major boost to the Kenyan economy.
The firm is located in the vicinity of Umma University.
Munya said stevia grown in Nanyuki was ready for export, also targeting to offer at least 500,000 avocado seedlings to farmers by March.
Kenya has been identified among the African countries that are yet to figure out how they can take advantage of their relations with China, according to a recent McKinney report.
It is now looking beyond the established technology and manufacturing hubs in the country under direct foreign investment programmes, to export products to bridge the trade imbalance that stands at Sh380 billion, according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics 2018.
Kenya has also signed a MoU on sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures on food inspection procedures, safety requirements, food traceability, and management of toxicity with the anticipation of the implementation of the deal.