Kenyan farmers are set to benefit big market for their produce in China following an agricultural export deal between the two countries which will allow the farmers export avocado, French beans, flowers, vegetables and peanuts to China.
The deal comes in the backdrop of the first ever China International Import Expo (CIIE) being held in Shanghai. According to the latest United Nations estimates, the current population of China is over 1.4bn making the East Asian country a good market for the produce.
China has become Kenya’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 17 percent of Kenya’s annual trade by value or more than $4 billion.
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The deal is expected to tilt the balance of trade scale in favor of Kenya to boost income from its exports by tapping China as a key export market.
Horticulture and flower exports are a key foreign exchange earner for Kenya which raked in $1.13B in 2017.
Europe has been a key market for Kenya which is now looking to diversify.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook estimates, Kenya exported US$5.7 billion worth of products around the globe in 2017, 28.4 per cent were sold to European importers and another 23.7 per cent worth of goods to Europe with 8.9 per cent arriving in North America.
The agreement comes less than a week after China’s president Xi Jinping met with President Kenyatta.