Kenyan president to lead delegation of farmers to China

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta will lead a delegation of horticultural farmers and traders to China in November this year for the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai during which a number of trade deals will be negotiated and sealed.

This was revealed on Thursday during a Kenyan cabinet meeting.

Among the agreements expected to be signed at the Expo is the Sanitary and Phytosanitary deal between Kenya and China that will open doors for over 40 percent of Kenya's fresh produce including avocado, mangoes and cashew nuts into the expansive Chinese market.

The agreement will also allow for the export of stevia, a sweetener largely grown in the Rift Valley, into the Chinese market.

Another expected outcome of the Kenyan president's visit to Shanghai will be the signing of an MOU for the establishment of a trade negotiation working group whose mandate will be to negotiate trade tariffs especially on Kenya's tea and coffee exports to China as well as explore additional market for the country's cash crops.