The government has called on local manufacturers to stick to global standards so as to remain competitive in the markets.
Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development Chief Administrative Secretary David Osiany said quality products would sell in the regional markets like the African Continental Free Trade Area that the government helped in opening up in January.
He said through the new markets, manufacturers will only benefit if they remain competitive by producing quality goods.
Osiany said they have eliminated most of the bottlenecks that affect trade to ensure there is ease of doing business by investors, both local and foreign. and called on manufacturers to maximise trade on the available markets.
He noted that the country has greatly improved its policies in protecting manufacturers and ensuring all products in the country are safe.
“We now rank very highly in the region because the government has been very deliberate in its operations. We have in place a multi-agency approach towards dealing with trade issues and tackling any bottlenecks. We shall facilitate our local investors and our industries to grow by easing cross-border trade and giving the right climate and conditions to do business without feeling unfairly targeted in this regard,” Osiany said.
The CAS spoke while on a tour of Bidco Africa Limited’s ultra-modern processing plant at Tatu City in Ruiru Subcounty.
He was accompanied by Kenya Bureau of Standards Quality Assurance Director Bernard Nguyo and the company’s chairman Vimal Shah.
The CAS said through a multi-agency team working with the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), they have intensified crackdown on counterfeits to protect local producers from dubious companies and cheap imports.
On his part, Nguyo said that as a national regulator and facilitator of fair trade, KEBS is fostering partnerships with industry players and SMEs to spur local and regional growth and development of Kenyan industries.
He said his officers have intensified crackdowns to ensure products being released to the market conform to quality requirements and safety standards.
On his part, Shah said his company appreciates the role the government has played to remove challenges faced by investors particularly in importation of raw materials.
However, he said the manufacturing sector was slowed down by effects of the Covid-19 pandemic leading to lay-offs by some employers
“Despite this we are lucky that the country did not experience a total shutdown and some of us have been able to retain jobs for our people,” Shah said.
By Muoki Charles
