Kenya awaits Kampala talks to resolve milk trade impasse
Merchandise
Kenya awaits Kampala talks to resolve milk trade impasse
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Women deliver goat milk to the Samburu East delivery point. PHOTO | GEOFFREY ONDIEKI | NMG
Summary
- At a bilateral meeting held in Nairobi last December, Uganda and Kenya agreed on other trade issues except milk.
- Kenya wants to travel to Uganda to make sure all milk from there is produced by local farmers, following allegations the merchandise is being imported from third countries.
- The Kenyan delegation meeting in Uganda has been postponed three times over the past year, delaying the resumption of normal dairy trade between the two countries.
Kenya is awaiting confirmation from Kampala as to the date of its visit to Uganda for a milk verification mission to resolve a two-year trade dispute over dairy imports between the two countries.
At a bilateral meeting held in Nairobi last December, Uganda and Kenya agreed on other trade issues except milk. Kampala was due to issue a date this month on the Kenya delegation’s trade mission.
Kenya is keen to visit Uganda to ensure that all milk from it is produced by local farmers, following claims that the product is imported from third countries as a powder and reconstituted before being exported to Kenya as fresh.
“We are ready to visit Uganda for this trade mission, we are just waiting for them to communicate on the date and share the itinerary of the activities,” said Livestock PS Harry Kimtai.
He said that once they authenticated that Uganda can produce surplus milk, which is supplied to Kenya, then the issue would be resolved once and for all.
The Kenyan delegation meeting in Uganda has been postponed three times over the past year, delaying the resumption of normal dairy trade between the two countries.
Bilateral talks in December discussed and resolved trade issues in poultry, eggs, sugar and fish.
The two countries also agreed to resolve the circumstances surrounding the interception of fish in transit from Kenya to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The two countries have ongoing trade disputes for years now after Kenya confiscated Ugandan milk and banned imports of the commodity.
Kenya avoided a ban on exporting its agricultural products to Uganda after Nairobi agreed to lift restrictions on imports of poultry products from the neighboring country late last year as Kampala planned to retaliate.
In mid-December, the Ugandan cabinet ordered the agriculture ministry to identify and list Kenyan products that would be banned by Kampala “within a short period of time,” forcing Nairobi to act quickly to get out of the country. deadlock to protect Ugandan exports.
Kenya’s top agricultural exports to Uganda include palm oil at 7.2 billion shillings last year, sorghum (1.4 billion shillings), vegetables (311 million shillings) and pulses. (200 million shillings).
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