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- America will ship wheat from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington states to Kenya
- Kenya had banned wheat from the three states, citing the prevalence of a fungal disease
A deal between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Donald Trump was signed to lift the decades-old prohibition on imports of US wheat into Kenya. A statement issued by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said that soon America will ship wheat from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington states to Kenya regardless of the state of origin or port of export. Since the last 12 years, Kenya had banned wheat from the three states, citing the prevalence of a fungal disease known as flag smut of wheat (urocystis agropyri). The deal will open the Kenyan market for American farmers in the Pacific Northwest. The technical agreement allows APHIS of the US to enhance general surveillance for the fungal-disease-prone wheat.
The wheat market of Kenya is estimated to be worth $500 million annually. Kenya is a net importer of wheat, buying two-thirds of its requirement to meet the annual consumption of 900,000 tonnes against its domestic production of 350,000 tonnes. Kenya charges a 10 percent duty on all imported wheat. Locally-produced wheat is reportedly costlier than the imports.
The Export Certification Protocol allowing the wheat imports to Kenya was signed between Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) and APHIS/PPQ. The deal is regarded as a precursor of the Free Trade Pact that is under discussions by both the countries.“Going forward, the USDA team looks forward to building on this success and further strengthening our relationship with Kenya as we pursue a new bilateral free trade agreement that will create additional market opportunities for US producers and exporters” said the US Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney in a statement.
