Commodities
Fish prices to increase after imports tax law takes effect
Friday April 07 2023
A fishmonger sorts out fish at the Fresh Fish Market in Kisumu County. FILE PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NMG
The Department of Fisheries has warned prices of fish will increase significantly should Parliament pass a Bill introducing a 20 percent tax on imports.
Director of Fisheries Daniel Mungai said the import tax will make Chinese fish more expensive in the local market, which will in turn increase the cost of local production due to high demand.
Read: MPs move to bar Chinese fish with 20pc excise tax
Chinese fish have always been cheaper with a wholesale price of Sh250 per kilo against the local one that sells for Sh320. This pushed some consumers to the imports.
Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi wants the First Schedule of the Excise Duty Act, 2015 amended to introduce excise duty on imported fish.
Mr Atandi has written to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula seeking clearance to introduce an amendment.
Kenya is a fish-deficit country and relies on China to bridge the gap that stands at 365,000 tonnes annually against a demand of 500,000 tonnes.
“Whereas the tax is a good thing to farmers as it will increase their earnings, the 20 percent tax will see consumers pay more for fish locally,” said Mr Mungai.
Chairman of the Gikomba Fish Traders Paul Oimba says the import duty should only be imposed on fish coming in from China and not Tanzania and Uganda, which are key source markets.
“It is a good thing to tax the Chinese ones, however, the regional imports from Uganda and Tanzania should come in duty-free because they are from Lake Victoria and form a large portion of what we sell locally,” said Mr Oimba.
Read: Raise local production to cut Chinese fish imports
The value of fish imported from China grew by 25 percent in 2021 to hit a historic high of Sh2 billion last year amid rising disquiet from local traders who have been edged out by the cheaper supplies.
Data from Fisheries indicated that Kenya shipped 14.8 million kilos of the delicacy from China in 2021, valued at Sh2 billion, up from Sh1.5 billion in the previous period.
