Kenya Lifts China Fish Import Ban

The Government of Kenya has lifted a ban on fish imports in a bid to alleviate current shortages. 

President Uhuru Kenyatta put the ban in place in November 2018 under a directive in order to guard against Chinese imports flooding the market. While the President wanted to see demand satisfied by local production it is thought that Kenya produce only 135,000 tonnes annually against a demand of 500,000 tonnes. The country also faces challenges as a result of the irregularity of supplies.

However, the Department of Fisheries has since lifted the ban with unnamed officials quoted in local media as stating, “We were forced to lift the ban to ease the shortage after a huge consignment of fish got stuck at the port, impacting negatively on local supplies.”