Trading Up
Bilateral agreement on tariff-free trade for Kenyan exports to China has far reaching benefits
Jane Ngoiri, 35, is a veteran farmer who has high hopes for an increase in income in 2019. What has injected a sense of optimism into Ngoiri, and other Kenyan farmers, is the impending bilateral agreement the country will sign with China in the first quarter of 2019 facilitating duty-free access of exports from Kenya into China.
Ngoiri owns a farm of 90 acres (36.4 hectares) in central Kenya where she grows and exports kale, avocados, tomatoes, citrus fruits and thorn melon. She plans to diversify her crop range even more to prepare for the opportunities in the Chinese market.
Kenya has already signed a major agreement with China in October 2018 on food, plant and animal safety, known as sanitary and phytosanitary measures, before the country’s agricultural produce is introduced to the Chinese market.
“I hope to increase my income by a considerable amount once I get access to the Chinese market. Already, I have done research that shows the Chinese demand is much greater than that of the European Union. My annual income is currently about $250,000 from exports, mostly to Europe; but I calculated that it could almost double once I access the larger Chinese market,” said Ngoiri.
She is just one of about 3,000 registered Kenyan agricultural exporters who are targeting the Chinese market once the bilateral agreement is signed and new exporter-friendly regulations are implemented.