Trade CS Moses Kuria lifts export ban on macadamia

The Act prohibits the export of raw macadamia and cashew nuts. [Kibata Kihu, Standard]

Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has suspended a section of the Agriculture and Food Authority Act touching on macadamia sales for a year.

The Act prohibits the export of raw macadamia and cashew nuts to the foreign market.

Mr Kuria, who spoke in Kagio, Kirinyaga County on Tuesday, April 12, said the macadamia law will remain suspended until buyers offer a better price for the commodity.

He said the market is now open to players who want to buy macadamia, saying the law was introduced to boost industrialisation.

"China and any all the other countries that get macadamia from Kenya are now welcome to the market for the prices to become competitive," said Kuria.

Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji said Kenya is among the leading macadamia producers, with a global market share of 13 per cent, translating to a turnover of more than Sh6 billion.

On buying rice from the societies in Mwea, Kuria said the government through Kenya National Trading Corporation will purchase bags of rice held by the societies.

"I have spoken to the leader of the rice farmers in Mwea, and I told him that we have the Kenya National Trading Corporation under my ministry. We are ready to buy all the rice, so do not listen to anyone telling you otherwise," he told farmers.

Kuria urged cooperatives not to continue holding rice. Earlier, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi said the government was in the process of importing 1.1 million metric tonnes of rice. Mwea farmers harvested 600,000 metric tonnes of rice in February 2023.