Chicken farmers in Kenya are up in arms against the decreased price of eggs after it emerged that duty fees paid for imports from Uganda had been decreased.
Farmers say that the over-supply has been occasioned by middlemen, who also turned to Uganda where a tray of eggs goes for as low as Sh200 due to lower cost of production compared to Kenya.
The Federation of Kenya Poultry Farmers (FKPF), is now urging the government to ban all eggs and chicken meat imports from Uganda to cushion local farmers.
“We are asking the government to stop all eggs and chicken meat imports from Uganda, or if not put some tax on them,” said Patrick Githinji, an official at the lobby group.
In January 2017, Kenya imposed the trade embargo following an outbreak of Avian flu which was first detected in wild ducks on the Ugandan side of Lake Victoria at Lutembe beach near Entebbe in Masaka and Wakiso districts. This was however lifted in 2019.
The tussle between protecting local farmers and upholding the East African Community statutes has led to the suffering of many businesses, with cheap farm produce finding its way into Kenya, including eggs.
The reduced costs of eggs has also been attributed by a total shut down on Schools and Hotels due to fears of the spread of the Coronavirus. The chicken farmers rely heavily on this market.
However, in the last two weeks, hotels and eateries have started resuming business as Kenya following the easing of restrictions on movements and social distancing in what is set to fuel fresh demand for eggs.
