Africa-Press – Kenya. ARUSHA: TANZANIA and Kenya have successfully addressed longstanding concerns regarding exporting poultry and poultry products as a significant step forward in resolving trade disputes and fostering mutually beneficial relations between the two countries.
The agreements and commitments were made on Tuesday in a landmark two-day meeting held at the East African Community (EAC) headquarters in Arusha.
Speaking during the meeting, the CoChair of the meeting from Tanzania, Dr Benezeth Malinda said his country has embarked on ensuring all trade-facilitating agencies address and resolve any issues hindering trade, particularly the Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) to trade.
“We remain committed to tackling these challenges and fostering an environment conducive to seamless trade between the two countries,” he said.
Both countries are committed to upholding transparency, facilitating trade, and ensuring the health and safety of their citizens. The meeting recognised the critical importance of trade between the two countries, highlighting the necessity for ongoing consultations to streamline and facilitate trade processes.
On his part, the CoChair of the meeting from Kenya, Mr Rabson Wanjala said that both countries had committed to fostering trade relations, adding that the commitments made underscore the importance of collaborative efforts to ensure increased trade in the region. Kenya has historically been a significant exporter of poultry and poultry-related products to Tanzania, including Day-Old Chicks (DOC), hatching eggs, parent stock and processed poultry items.
However, in 2021, Tanzania imposed a ban on poultry imports from Kenya due to the global outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
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The ban severely impacted Kenya’s poultry industry, hindering access to a vital market. The meeting, convened from April 29 to 30, this year brought together veterinary authorities from both countries with the objective of resolving the ban on the export of poultry and poultry products from Kenya to Tanzania.
The two parties discussed their concerns and reached agreements regarding the trade of poultry between them including Clarification of the Ban where Tanzania clarified that it had not imposed a ban on Kenyan poultry and poultry products but had implemented sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures.
The measures were implemented in response to the global Avian Influenza outbreaks as per the World Organization for Animal Health disease notification reports and aimed at safeguarding animal and public health.
Both parties affirmed that trade in DOCs and hatching eggs between the two countries was ongoing, with facilities demonstrating high biosecurity standards permitted to operate.
They also agreed that any facility intending to export poultry products from Kenya to Tanzania, and vice versa, may undergo a risk assessment to ensure compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures.
Moreover, the two partner states committed to enhance surveillance efforts and capacity-building initiatives to ensure timely disease detection and reporting.
Further, it was agreed that small-scale poultry producers in both countries will receive support to improve biosecurity measures in an effort to enhance their export opportunities.
In recognizing the importance of efficient communication, both veterinary competent authorities in the two Partner States pledged to strengthen collaboration for swift issue resolution regarding SPS measures.
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