Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta has banned imports of fish from China with the goal of protecting local fishermen, according to The Standard, a daily newspaper in the central African nation.
At a recent public appearance, Kenyatta blamed cheap fish imports from China for the struggles of the country’s own fisheries sector.
“I have been told about the imported fish from China. It is not possible that we import Chinese fish when our local traders are here," Kenyatta said at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya.
In response, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Li Xuhang said the order banning fish imports amounted to a “trade war" and that his country would respond "decisively," according to The Standard.
Pollution, overfishing, and drought related to climate change have seen fish stocks fall in Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest fresh water lake and the key source of fish in Kenya. Tilapia from China has become a cheap, staple replacement, with China sending 350,000 tons of tilapia, worth USD 12 million (EUR 10.5 million) to Kenya in 2017 – although some of that figure may have been transshipped to other nations in the region.
Kenya’s move will be a blow to Chinese exporters who have looked to Africa and the Middle East as a replacement for falling demand from U.S. buyers as a result of the Sino-U.S. trade war. Chongle Guan, vice general manager of Chinese tilapia exporter Ningde Xiawei Food Co., said the ban is bad news for his company. The Fujian, China-based firm had planned on upping its shipments to Kenya in the second half of 2018 in order but now may have to find other options, Guan told SeafoodSource.
However, It remains to be seen if Kenyatta will follow through with the ban. China has significant leverage in Kenya, as it has extended numerous high-price tag loans to the Kenyan government for infrastructure projects, including funding for a high-speed rail link.
Photo courtesy of Pulse Live
