Kenya is intensifying efforts to unlock access to the Chinese market for its agricultural exports, pushing Beijing to remove tariffs that the government argues have kept local produce uncompetitive.
- •During meetings in Nairobi this week with senior officials from China’s General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development made a renewed bid to accelerate long-pending approvals for local commodities such as coffee, tea, avocados, mangoes, dried chilies, and green grams.
- •Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture Mutahi Kagwe decried the 8% tariff on non-roasted coffee, 20% tariff on roasted coffee, and the 15% tariff on tea; beverages that are high revenue earners for Kenya.
- •China’s zero-tariff initiative has taken on strategic weight, offering African exporters an alternative pathway just as the United States tightens its trade posture.
“I urge the GACC to fast-track the move toward zero duty on these flagship commodities to help rebalance trade between the two countries,” said CS Kagwe.
The lobbying comes against the backdrop of a widening trade deficit that Kenyan policymakers now describe as untenable. According to the KNBS, Chinese exports to Kenya rose by 25.5% to KSh 576 billion in 2024. The shipments were mostly manufactured products and industrial inputs.
Meanwhile, Kenya exported commodities worth KSh 26.3 billion to China; recording a 9% drop from 2023. This was lower than the volumes of commodities Kenya exported to the US (KSh 89 billion) and the European Union (KSh 157 billion).
Kenya has spent the past several years negotiating a framework that would clear the way for tariff-free access for its flagship farm exports. Government agencies say they have already completed the technical and sanitary submissions required for fresh fruit, dried produce, and several plant-based products, but many of these files remain awaiting final action in Beijing.
Delays have drawn concern from Kenyan producers, who view China as the single largest potential growth market for higher-value agriculture. Shipments of meat, in particular, have been stalled for more than two years, locking out processors seeking to diversify away from traditional Middle Eastern destinations.
Kenyan officials are signaling that the bilateral commitments made between Presidents William Ruto and Xi Jinping during an earlier state visit this year need to translate into operational market access. Nairobi also wants deeper cooperation on agricultural research, laboratory capacity, and value-chain upgrading, reflecting its longer-term ambition to shift away from bulk commodity exports.
Kenya's lamentations also lie on the backdrop of Beijing’s mid-2025 promise to scrap tariffs on imports from 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic ties. It also followed the tariff storm unleashed by US President Donald Trump on countries around the world.
Trump noted that the tariffs were corrective measures to distorted trade relationships and over-reliance on foreign supply chains. The tariffs plus the expiry of AGOA in September this year has injected new volatility into access to the American market by African producers.
