• The British High Commission said the two-year suspension of the UKGT is aimed at making trade with the UK easier and cheaper for growers in East Africa and beyond.
• Previously, flower exports to the UK, particularly if they went through a third country, attracted 8 per cent Global Tariff.
Image: FILE
Kenya’s horticulture sector has scored a short-term win following the temporal removal of the Global Tariff for cut flowers by the United Kingdom.
In a statement on Thursday, the British High Commission said the two-year suspension of the UKGT is aimed at making trade with the UK easier and cheaper for growers in East Africa and beyond.
“Unlimited quantities of flowers can now be exported to the UK at 0 per cent tariff, even if they transit via a third country. UK consumers could win big too – on price, seasonality, and variety,” the statement reads in part.
Previously, flower exports to the UK, particularly if they went through a third country, attracted 8 per cent Global Tariff.
The High Commission said the UKGT will be suspended effective April 11, 2024, to 30 June 2026.
“The suspension of 8 per cent duty for cut flowers applies across the world but will be a big win for major flower growing regions in Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda,” the commission said.
It said the decision strengthens the UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership – an ambitious five-year agreement that is unlocking mutual benefits for the UK and Kenya.
In 2022, Kenya was ranked the fourth biggest cut-flower exporter in the world with 6 per cent of global cut-flower exports.
Comparably, Ethiopia is the second largest cut flower producer in Africa, making up 23 per cent of Sub-Saharan African exports.
The King’s Trade Commissioner for Africa John Humphrey welcomed the removal of the UKGT saying the UK’s relationship with East Africa is rooted in mutually beneficial trade.
“This additional flower power will allow trade to bloom. We go far when we go together…or in this case, we grow far when we grow together, further reinforcing the UK’s commitment to the expansion of trade in East Africa.”
The British High Commission said the removal of UKGT further serves to bolster the UK-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement, which came into force in March 2021.
It said the agreement has since its inception saved Kenyan exporters over Sh1.5 billion annually in duties on products such as green beans and cut flowers.
In 2023, around 400 UK VAT-registered businesses imported goods from Kenya.
Overall, total export and import trade between the UK and Kenya was £1.4 billion ((Sh228 billion) in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2023.
This was an 11.1 per cent increase or £140 million (Sh22.8 billion) in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022.
Of this Sh228 billion, total UK exports to Kenya amounted to £63 Sh103.6 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2023 (an increase of 6.5 per cent or Sh6.36 billion in current prices), compared to the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022.
Total UK imports from Kenya amounted to Sh125.79 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2023 (an increase of 15.1 per cent or Sh16.47 billion in current prices) compared to the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022.