Government, farmers losing billions of shillings to smuggling cartels

Head of Coffee Directorate Kiplimo Melli says the rampant theft of coffee estimated to be worth Sh10 billion involves security personnel, coffee firms' officials among other value chain players.

The Government and farmers are losing billions of shillings, following increased illegal exports of key crops by cartels. The smuggling out of huge consignments of coffee, sisal, maize, sugar and macadamia nuts deny local growers an opportunity to enjoy their hard earned money.

Agriculture Fisheries and Food Authority (AFFA) top management, though it did not divulge details in terms of the value of the illegal exports, sounded alarm over illicit trade in the agriculture sub-sectors that involve traders forging documents to ship out the commodities. The dealers are suspected of compromising the surveillance agencies - mainly the police. AFFA acting Director General Alfred Busolo this week said major producers in the export commodities sector are suffering as middlemen perpetuate the illegal trade.

Coffee in particular is the worst affected. It is estimated by industry sources that coffee worth about Sh10 billion is smuggled out yearly through illegal border points. “We have received complaints from stakeholders in the agriculture industries like coffee, sisal, sugar, macadamia and nuts of increasing cases of theft. The illicit activities are being undertaken by immoral traders who are not comfortable with the reforms Government is implementing the sector,” said Mr Busolo.

In the coffee sub-sector, key dealers are smuggling the beans out of the country through border points of Uganda and Tanzania after compromising the regulatory and surveillance agencies. “This makes it difficult for us to track all the coffee destined for exports, but there is a lot of Kenya coffee in the international market. This has denied the national government revenue and contributed to reduction of the Kenya share in the international market,” he added.

The head of Coffee Directorate Kiplimo Melli acknowledged rampant theft of coffee in the country involving dealers, security personnel coffee firms’ officials among other value chain players. The illegal dealers steal coffee beans from the factories in the rural areas, owing to weak security strategy and enforcement. Melli explained that the vice is implemented at night and delivered the same time with fake delivery documents thus making it impossible for the surveillance agencies like the police to seize the consignments. “The current smuggling of coffee rekindles rampant theft of the crop in 1970s, for instance, the Chepkube black-market of 1974 and 1978,” said Mr Melli. During the night, trucks weighed down by thousands of bags of smuggled coffee used to be arrested along Chepkube’s narrow roads heading to Uganda and other destinations. Kenya is globally known for fine Arabica production.

unscrupulous traders

In the macadamia and nuts industry unscrupulous traders said to be from China are said to be exporting raw nuts contrary to the provisions of the AFFA Act, 2013. The country produce 35,000 tonnes compared to a potential of over 65,000 tonnes. Some of the proprietors are located in Nairobi and Thika of Kiambu County. Jungle Nuts EPZ Chief Executive Patrick Wainaina concurred that the industry is suffering out of illicit trade. “The current legislation prohibits traders from export raw macadamia and nuts with a view to encouraging value addition. But some traders from China who are operating factories in the country have been exporting the commodity contrary to the AFFA Act,” said Mr Wainaina on phone.

He said though the State has been cracking down on bogus traders, the vice seem not to be ending. In the sisal industry, unscrupulous traders from the neighbouring countries are involved in the illegal sisal trade. By end of last year, Kenya exported 25,252 tonnes valued at Sh2.821 billion, making it the third producer after Brazil and Tanzania. Kenya exports its sisal to Saudi Arabia, China, Morocco Nigeria, Spain, and Philippines.

Busolo said surveillance has been enhanced along the value chain with the employment of inspectors in counties as well as partnering with county governments to crackdown on the illegal traders, adding that AFFA will register afresh all the crops dealers with a view to knowing the genuine actors.

 

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