NAIROBI, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Kenya should improve the quality of locally manufactured goods to enhance their competitiveness in the Chinese market amid improved trade ties, a scholar said on Monday.
Cavince Adhere, a China-Africa relations expert, said that Kenya is in a vantage position to bridge trade deficit with China if the east Africa's largest economy embarks on manufacturing products that meet globally approved threshold.
"China has opened its trading rooms to all countries around the world. Kenyan products therefore compete with products from other places. It will take targeted investments in our production lines to meet and exceed quality thresholds set by China, including sanitation and packaging," Adhere said in an opinion piece published by the Star daily.
Kenya participated in the inaugural China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10 to help position Beijing as a favorite destination for foreign goods.
President Uhuru Kenyatta led a high powered delegation to the first edition of CIIE, where he signed deals to pave the way for exporting horticultural products to the Asian nation.
During the expo, Kenya signed a sanitary and phytosanitary deal with China to facilitate the export of more than 40 percent of the country's fresh produce including avocado, mangoes and cashew nuts to the world's second largest economy.
Adhere said that Kenya's participation in the CIIE was a milestone in the efforts of bridging trade imbalances with China.
The scholar noted that Kenyan exhibitors who participated in the expo reported a demand for a large volume of goods they were unable to supply given their weaker production systems.
Adhere said that local entrepreneurs deserve funding incentives to enable them produce high quality and bulk products for the Chinese market.
"To increase production, they require significant capital injection. The government could play role of a guarantor for Kenyan enterprises as they lend from financial institutions," said Adhere.
He said that investments in language learning and cultural understanding will boost the ability for Kenyan entrepreneurs to enter the Chinese market.
Adhere also noted that reduction of existing tariffs is key to boosting trade between Kenya and China.
