President Uhuru Kenyatta (left) and his Burundi counterpart Évariste Ndayishimiye during an inspection tour of the newly refurbished Kisumu Port on May 31, 2021.
Kenya and Burundi's chambers of commerce have inked a deal that will foster cross-border trade relations between the two East African countries.
Kenya targets to increase its trade with Burundi by pushing for removal of tariff barriers along the main transport route through Tanzania.
The deals follow the State visit by Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye this week as the two countries move to ease trucking of goods such as pharmaceuticals, petroleum and value added agricultural products.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and President Ndayishimiye on Monday signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on cooperation in agriculture, livestock and fisheries, and another on public service.
In the deliberations that lasted more than three hours, the roundtable forum identified agriculture and value addition, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, building and construction, financial intermediation, ICT enabled services and transport as potential areas of cooperation and opportunities.
The two chambers, while appreciating the political goodwill expressed by the two Heads of State, agreed to establish a joint business council to enhance investment and trade for the mutual benefit of both countries.
Trade Principal Secretary Johnson Weru said Kenyan exporters of goods to Burundi incur 20 per cent more costs due to constant delays at the Tanzanian border and county levies in that country.
As a result, he said, the resultant higher costs of Kenyan goods in Burundi has seen Burundians dump these products in favour of cheaper substitutes from Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and China.
Cabinet Secretary for Trade Betty Maina said that eliminating these barriers will be key in growing trade relations between Kenya and Burundi.
“We are keen to offer our markets for Burundi products. On the same scale, Kenya is keen to increase its trade with Burundi,” said Ms Maina.
Kenya is eyeing investment opportunities in the telecommunication sector of the tiny country, which has the highest voice call rates in the region.
Burundi’s economy heavily depends on agriculture, with tea, coffee and malt beer making its largest exports to Kenya.
Kenya’s exports to Burundi were valued at Sh6.3 billion last year, a 12.6 per cent drop from Sh7.2 billion in 2019, highlighting the impact of the barriers erected by Tanzania on Kenyan truckers at the time.
Burundi’s exports to Kenya stood at Sh386.4 million ($3.6 million), which was a significant increase from the previous year.
Kenya’s main exports to Burundi last year were flat rolled products of iron, sugar confectionery and petroleum oils.
The renewal of the bilateral trade relations comes at a time Kenya’s exports in the East African Community jumped to a six-year high in 2019 on the back of thawing trade tensions within the region.
The country’s earnings from goods exported to Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda increased by nearly Sh11.01 billion, or 10.06 percent in that year to hit Sh120.43 billion.
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