Kenya and Pakistan have agreed to remove non-tariff barriers, ending a long-standing tariff war that hurt trade between the two countries. The attestation fee has officially been removed, effective August 16, 2021.
Yesterday, the two countries announced the removal of the ‘Attestation Fee’ with effect from August 6 2021. The Pakistan High Commission charged the fee in Nairobi.
Calculated at 0.5% of the entire export volume for the tea exporters from Kenya, the fee made Kenyan tea costlier when it landed in Pakistan compared to other teas.
Pakistan slapped the fee on Kenya tea when the latter initiated taxation of Pakistan rice at 75% under the East African Community (EAC) protocol in 2007.
Tea exporters from Kenya were required to confirm and approve their export documents by the Pakistan High Commission before shipping out consignments.
Pakistan is the second top export destination for Kenya after Uganda, with trade between the two countries favouring Kenya.
Pakistan absorbs about 40% of all tea exports from Kenya. In 2020, Kenya earned about KSh25.9 billion of the total KSh64.7billion worth of teas Pakistan imported from across the world.
In 2020, Kenyan exports to Pakistan were valued at about $506 million against imports worth $199 million.
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