Workers sort avocados at a processing facility on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, on May 28. XIE JIANFEI/XINHUA
NAIROBI — Kenya views the zero-tariff access to the Chinese market not merely as a trade preference, but also as a strategic opportunity to enhance its export competitiveness, accelerate industrial value addition and expand market reach, a senior Kenyan trade official said.
In a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency, Regina Ombam, principal secretary of Kenya's State Department for Trade, said access to China's vast market provides a crucial platform for Kenya to elevate its economic potential.
"I think when we got into the 'Early Harvest' arrangement, which was taking effect from May 1 with the zero-tariff policy, our big thinking was around how do we make Kenya competitive?" she said.
The tariff arrangement is viewed not merely as an export channel, but as an opportunity to showcase Kenya's premium products. Ombam noted that Kenya looked at it "as an opportunity for us to showcase how special Kenya is and what special things Kenya has and how willing Kenya is ready to share these special things that it has with other people as far away as China."
