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NAIROBI, July 31 (Xinhua) – Kenya on Tuesday launched an export strategy to eliminate the country's growing trade deficit.
Vice President William Ruto told a trade forum in Nairobi that integrated national export development The strategy contains a roadmap for developing the country's exports in order to generate a trade surplus in the medium term.
"The strategy will help move the country's exports from the equivalent of 8% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 25% of GDP by 2022," Ruto said at a meeting. the official opening of the Kenya Trade and Exhibition Week
The one-week event aims to provide a platform for Kenyan manufacturers to discuss ways to raise the challenges that affect them. boosting foreign trade by ensuring that Kenya gives priority to the value added of raw materials.
million. Ruto said the strategy was aimed at focusing on eight sectors, including textiles and clothing, agriculture, the vice president said that a cabinet subcommittee on exports had been created to task key ministries of job creation and foreign exchange earnings. According to government data, Kenya imported goods worth $ 17 billion against exports of $ 6 billion in 2017.
M. Ruto said Kenya's trade balance has widened over the last decade. He noted that to support the export sector, Kenya was planning to put in place an export guarantee system to help exporters enter new international markets.
Peter Munya, the Cabinet Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, said that Kenya's exports are vulnerable to external shocks due to an export base narrow.
Munya said In 2017, five products accounted for about 56% of all export revenues, while 13 countries accounted for 70% of all volumes exported.
He added that Kenya would seek to exploit all the bilateral trade agreements it has signed in the world.
He noted that through the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa, to the East African Community, to the Growth and Opportunity Act and to the East African Development Bank. EAC-European Union Partnership Agreement, Kenyan products have preferential access to more than one billion
Munya said that most of Kenya's manufactured exports came from export-processing zones.
"We are now focusing on the use of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) with world-class infrastructure to produce competitive products."
He noted that the government has already authorized two SEZs that will be fully operational by the end of 2019.
Chris Kiptoo, the principal secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Trade. Cooperatives, exports of manufactured goods to the EAC have declined over the past five years due to tariff and non-tariff barriers.
"So we focused on the rest of the African continent where Kenya signed preferential trade agreements," Kiptoo said.
He noted that the government has put in place a series of incentives to boost the local manufacturing sector.
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