Kenyan traders have asked their government to tighten the ban on Uganda’s poultry imports.
The demand comes just days amid talks in which Kenyan officials were in Uganda last week to discuss trade barriers on a number of products including sugar, maize and milk.
In January, Kenya’s Directorate of Veterinary Services banned importation of poultry and beef products as it sought to protect its farmers from competition as well as support the resumption of the sector that had been dampened by Covid-19 related disruptions.
However, reports by Business Daily yesterday indicated dealers in Kenya, specifically Yo Kuku, were still trading in poultry products processed from Uganda, which has prompted traders in to petition government to tighten the January ban in order to protect dealers amid a second wave of Covid-19.
Mr Zack Munyambu, the Kiambu Poultry Farmers’ Cooperative Association director, told Business Daily that the Kenyan government needed to protect its farmers from imports amid restrictions occasioned by the second curfew.
“Our farmers have been affected heavily by this second curfew and we need to protect them at all costs,” Mr Munyambu said, noting there was need to tighten the ban to ensure that farmers are not exposed by imports that are smuggled into the country.
