•An exporter who did not want to be named said they have not been able to export green grams to Pakistan due to lack of an import licence.
Image: MUSEMBI NZENGU
Farmers are stuck with nearly 45, 000 metric tonnes of green grams (Ndengu) that may rot due to lack of market.
This is about 500,000 bags of 90-kilogrammes each.
Gerald Masila, chief executive officer of the East African Grain Council said farmers from Ukambani region and Tharaka Nithi county had a bumper harvest of green grams last year but they have nowhere to sell their produce. He spoke on Friday during an interview with the Star.
This is because exporters have been denied an import license to Pakistan, which is the second-largest export market for Kenyan green gram after India.
This standoff comes even as a Pakistan delegation visited the country on Thursday and Friday last week for the Pakistan Trade Fair in Africa.
Masila said the country’s green gram production is 50,000mts while the local consumption is less than 5, 000 tonnes.
“The remaining 45, 000 mts (metric ton) may end up rotting because ordinarily it is meant to be exported and our biggest export markets are either India or Pakistan. Currently, India has banned any green gram imports worldwide due to bumper harvest in the country.”
“The only outlet is Pakistan but Kenya cannot export because they lack an import licence issued by the Plant Protection Department in Pakistan,” Masila said.
An exporter who did not want to be named said they have not been able to export green grams to Pakistan due to lack of an import licence.
"Besides having the necessary documents from the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, we are also required to have an import licence from the Pakistan Plant Health department, which is issued to the buyers in that country. However, up until November last year, we started having challenges after Pakistan issued new stringy conditions for Kenyan exporters,” he said.
He said Pakistan is giving unfair treatment to Kenyan exporters because they have issued the import licences to Ethiopia and Tanzania and not for Kenya yet the exporters have adhered to the conditions.
Masila said the conditions given to the Kenyan exporters are not new since they have been used to India.
“Kenyan exporters have agreed to meet to the conditions but Pakistan has still not issued the permits, yet exporters from Ethiopia and Tanzania have been allowed,” said Masila.
The exporter said this is unfair treatment from Pakistan bearing in mind that Kenya is the largest importer of Pakistan rice.
“We are willing to comply to the conditions but they should not discriminate in issuing the import permits,” the exporter said.
Dr Esther Kimani, Kephis managing director, confirmed that Kenya is currently not able to export green grams to Pakistan but the two governments are in talks.
“We have assured them that Kenya is ready to comply with the conditions. We will keep following up until we get a solution to the issue,” she said.