Wheat |
The government has said it is not aware of Kenya's decision to raise inspection fee on Tanzania's wheat exports by 13 times.
Kenya reportedly
increased the wheat inspection fee at the border from Ksh600 (about
Sh13,000) per truck to Ksh8,000 (Sh176,000), a move that will
technically lock out the commodity, threatening to escalate a trade war
between the two neighbouring countries.
"I am not aware of the decision," Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Charles Mwijage told The Citizen by telephone.
"Yes, we have
issues pertaining to trade with our neighbours, which prompted the
government through my Permanent Secretary to hold a meeting with them on
September 8 in Dar es Salaam, but not the wheat inspection fee."
Mr Mwijage called
on traders to inform him about any issues related to trade barriers so
that they could be addressed. Unless the issue is solved, Kenya's
decision will increase the cost of doing business for Tanzanian traders,
who export their wheat products to the neighbouring nation, making
Tanzania's wheat uncompetitive in Kenya's market.
The two East
African countries have been in a head-on dispute over wheat trade with
Tanzania citing Kenya at the East African Secretariat early this year
for blocking it from exporting the commodity to the local market.
In April, the
Council of Ministers from EAC said Kenya had ignored guidelines issued
by the secretariat allowing wheat products from Tanzania to enter the
country duty-free under the EAC common tariff.
Kenya and Tanzania do not produce sufficient wheat and rely on imports to meet demand.
Kenya is a net
importer of wheat, bringing in two-thirds of the annual consumption of
900,000 tonnes against local production of 350,000 tonnes.
Tanzania has been
Kenya's second largest market in the region after Uganda, providing a
range of products, including palm oil, soap, medicine, cooking fats,
iron sheets, sugar confectionery and margarine.
In April this year,
Kenya's Ministry of Energy banned imports of cooking gas through the
Kenya-Tanzania border, a move which, according to Kenya, meant to
eliminate illegal cooking gas filling plants, which have cropped up in
various parts of the country posing safety and security risks.
But in July this
year, the two countries through their Heads of State President John
Magufuli and Kenyan Uhuru Kenyatta held successful talks expected to see
the lifting of restrictions on imports from either country.
Kenya's total
exports to Tanzania went down by 34 per cent in the first five months of
the year to Sh4.35 billion, raising concern over the impact of the
trade standoff.
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