Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi toured Pakistan Monday and met with the Pakistan Federal Minister of Food Security and Research Chaudhary Tariq Bashir Cheema in Islamabad where the two held bilateral talks on Kenya’s agricultural products.
The discussions tabled ranged from goods such as mangoes and cornflowers as Kenya seeks to tap more into the multi-billion trade deal it has enjoyed with the Asian state.
“…trade collaboration between the two countries will create a market need from each other on different agricultural and livestock products ranging from tea, mangoes, avocados, cornflowers and many more,” said the Ministry of Agriculture on its Twitter page.
The Kenyan High Commission in Islamabad, Julius Kibet Bitok, has been tasked to see to it that the collaboration comes to fruition.
The ultimate goal of CS Linturi is to empower Kenyan farmers with “increased income in their pockets.”
In 2020, Kenya exported Ksh.65.3 billion ($515M) to Pakistan where tea topped the exports to the tune of Ksh.62.7 billion ($495M), Dried Legumes Ksh.1.4 billion ($11.7M), and Scrap Vessels Ksh.205.4 million ($1.62M).
During the same period, Pakistan exported Ksh.29.6 billion ($234M) to Kenya with Rice (Ksh.16.7 billion), Mitumba (Ksh.3.2 billion) and packaged medicaments (Ksh.1.1 billion) topping the imports.
During the last 23 years, the exports of Kenya to Pakistan have increased at an annualized rate of 7.98%, from Ksh.11.1 billion ($88.1M) in 1997 to Ksh.65.3 billion in 2020.
Linturi has been exploring market prospects for Kenyan farmers at a time when the country is experiencing unprecedented times of prolonged drought.
The Kenya Meteorological Department in its Monday update said the country would be expecting short rains for a 7-day period in western Kenya and some parts of Rift valley.
“Rainfall is expected over the Highlands East and West of the Rift Valley, Lake Victoria Basin as well as the South and Central Rift Valley during the first half of the forecast period,” said Met department.
The rainfall has been measured to be between 10mm to 50mm in these regions.
