KENYA’S POSITION ON TRADE AND ITS LONG TERM AGRICULTURAL POLICY GOALS
Kenya’s position on world agricultural trade is based on World Trade Organization rules and economic partnership agreements, while the country’s agricultural policy goals consider emerging sales and marketing patterns.
Department of Research, National Assembly of Kenya.
Kenya and other developing countries have traditionally exported commodities in raw form to developed countries. The developed nations have always resisted efforts by developing countries to add value through processing. Any attempt at processing has been met with tariff escalation thereby making the exports less competitive. This has led to the slow development of agro-based industries and a loss of earnings. Kenyan commodities prone to tariff escalation include tea, coffee, pyrethrum, cotton, soya beans and sunflower. Others are plums, citrus fruits, bananas, watermelon, cashew nuts, cassava, sweet potatoes, French beans, carrots, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms. In 2008, export earnings from food and beverages accounted for 40.4 per cent of total domestic export
44 | The Parliamentarian | 2010: Issue Three - Kenya
earnings. In the same year, the exports share to the African continent was 47.1 per cent, a two percentage point increase from the previous year. Exports to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region accounted for 68.5 per cent. Kenya’s earnings from
agricultural trade have grown at an average rate of 10.3 per cent over the past 10 years. The main drivers are tea, coffee and horticultural products (cut flowers). The country, however, experienced negative growth in earnings in 2001 while in 2005 it recorded the best growth posting 18.6 per cent (see table 1). Kenya’s position on the WTO The World Trade Organization
(WTO) is responsible for overseeing the multilateral trading system through trade agreements. Other roles include a forum for trade negotiations, settling
disputes and reviewing national trade policies. Kenya is a founder member of the WTO and is bound by all trade agreements and intellectual property rights. Kenya participates in all major
WTO trade talks and maintains a strong negotiating team in Geneva. Currently, Kenyan negotiators are guided by the following objectives:
• Improved market access for primary and processed products;
• Caveat rules for special products aimed at addressing Kenya’s concerns with respect to food security, rural development and livelihoods;
• Meaningful modalities to protect domestic production from upsurge in imports;
• A credible end date for elimination of export subsidies;