By Felix Mwera, Musoma

The Government has expressed concern over the duty Kenya is demanding on milk exports from Tanzania in contradiction of the regional trade agreement.

The Minister for East African Cooperation, Diodorus Kamala, said the neighbouring country was imposing taxes on milk exports from a local company, Musoma Dairy Limited (MDL), in spite of the EAC trade agreement.

According to the EAC trade agreement, milk exports to Kenya from Tanzania are duty-free. But the Minister revealed that the Kenya Revenue Authority was imposing a 60 per cent duty.

He blamed Kenyan authorities for not honouring the agreement by imposing non-tariff barriers on the milk exports.

?I will table the agenda before the EAC Council Minister this month to seek explanation on why our colleagues are entertaining non-tariff barriers,? said Dr Kamala.

And in addition to the duty, Kenyan authorities were said to be demanding tests on the milk in Nairobi before allowing it to be sold on the market.

This again, according to Dr Kamala, contradicted an agreement under the EAC customs union. ?We agreed that once the Tanzania Bureau of Standards is satisfied with the quality, no other member-state should question that,? he said.

?This is frustrating. I have asked my office to assess these barriers affecting MDL?s exports to Kenya.?
Dr Kamala explained that imposing non-tariff barriers on the milk exports was hindering local investors from accessing the Kenyan market.

He also said by allowing such obstacles to frustrate trade between the two countries Kenya could hinder plans for the EAC common market.
In addition, the MDL Chairman, Dr Gideon Mazara, complained about ?unnecessary bureaucracy? his firm was facing when exporting milk to Kenya.

He accused the Kenya Dairy Board of cutting down the quantity of milk to be exported to the country.
?They allow us to export about a quarter of what we agreed. Sometimes we export 10,000 instead of the agreed 30,000 litres,? he said.

MDL recently received a $4.6 million loan from the government to boost its operations. It is one of the main manufacturers of milk products in the country.
Meanwhile, the minister has urged the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) to curb the smuggling of milk products from Kenya to protect the local dairy industry.

Courtesy of;http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/newe.php?id=7123