KENYA is betting on actualization of direct flights with the United States to increase exports under the preferential trade agreement known as Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade Abdulrazaq Adan Ali said on Wednesday the direct flights will, for instance, enable the country to export fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers to the U.S.market. “Since we want to expand the variety of the exports to that market, we are working very keenly to ensure direct flights happen, “ Ali told journalists in Nairobi.Kenya is currently among the leading African countries in the exports of fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers mainly destined for the European Union members. “The alternative routes that we can use today to export these fresh produce without incurring trade barriers would take many days and this is not practical,” Ali said. But despite lack of direct flights, Kenyan traders have been fighting to penetrate the U.S. market with exports of flowers and canned vegetables increasing by 21.5 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year, according to the Stephen Mbithi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya.Kenya is among the Third World countries eligible for the preferential trade arrangement into the U.S. that allows duty-free exports of up to 6,000 products to the U.S. market. But Kenya only exports about 50products. “This is very low utilization of this opportunity. We have been discussing with the private sector to see how we can increase the number of products, but the main issue is that we should have directflights,” he said.About 70 percent of Kenya’s exports under AGOA include the textiles thanks to the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) that manufacture apparel under contract from U.S. retailers. Kenya’s exports under AGOA average 400 million U.S. dollars every year, according to the ministry of trade statistics. One of the challenges identified as restricting the volume of Kenya’s exports to the U.S. under AGOA has been lack of value addition for agriculture products.Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy, employing up to 80 percent of the working population. But the majority of it is subsistence based and has little room for processing and better packaging that is preferred by the U.S. market. Another challenge facing Kenya trade under AGOA is that little of the 400 million dollars annual sale benefits the Kenyans directly because most of the EPZ factories are owned by foreigners.
