Kenya's maize (also known as corn) imports from Tanzania decreased by almost 42% to 412,755 tonnes in the marketing year (MY) 2022/2023, compared to 708,978 tonnes in MY 2021/2022, due to the impact of non-tariff barriers, a recent yearly report by the US Department of Agriculture revealed.
Traders in Kenya imported maize from South Africa, Zambia, and Tanzania, but Tanzanian imports decreased due to Dodoma's export restrictions, which were in the form of demanding exporters to Kenya to obtain export certificates.
"[...] Traders have had difficulty exporting corn from Tanzania following the implementation of new export procedures. In the past, the Government of Tanzania has imposed export bans or restricted access to export permits when domestic supplies are low. [...] Kenya traders have begun to source more corn from non-traditional sources such as Zambia and South Africa," the report read, as cited by the media.
In absolute figures, the imports from Zambia recorded a significant increase of eight times, reaching 88,050 tonnes from 10,728 tonnes. Similarly, imports from South Africa showed significant growth, reaching 64,513 tonnes, representing a 23-fold increase from 2,782 tonnes previously. The imports from Uganda experienced a significant 13-fold surge, reaching a total of 34,590 tonnes, compared to the previous amount of 2,629 tonnes.
The increase in imports from Zambia and South Africa is particularly noteworthy given that Kenya imposes a high ad valorem import tariff of 50% on maize from countries outside the EAC, in accordance with the EAC Common External Tariff. However, maize imported from the bloc members is exempt from this tax.