Scrap metal dealers in the country have raised concerns over what they claim is an increase in imported metals, stating it has severely affected their businesses and disrupted the prices.
The traders who also decried high taxes are calling on the Ministry of Trade to intervene and protect local businesses.
Led by Evans Ng'ang'a, Scrap Metal Dealers Association (SMDA) chairman, the traders are appealing to the government to stop these imports and stabilise the market, which they reveal is crushing.
''Currently, as we are speaking, we have 25,000 metric tonnes of steel bars that have landed in Mombasa, which is coming to flood the market,'' Ng'ang'a revealed.
The scrap metal dealers are appealing to the government to stop the imports and ensure that the metal recycling industry goes back to the proper trajectory.
According to the dealers, the scrap that should be coming into the country should only compensate for what the country cannot offer, and not come to replace what the country has.
''The whole market has now been affected, to an extent that we don't have anywhere to sell our scrap metal anymore,'' the dealers continued.
If the Ministry of Trade adopts the traders' suggestion, it would be following in the steps of US President Donald Trump, who imposed a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all imports, on Kenyan goods, citing trade imbalances and concerns over currency manipulation.
The concern comes barely a month after the government directed scrap metal dealers across the country to apply for their import and export permits online.
In a statement on March 11, the Scrap Metal Council (SMC) announced that dealers should submit their applications through the Trade Facilitation Platform (TFP) from March 15.
"The Scrap Metal Council (SMC), in collaboration with the Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade), wishes to notify all our stakeholders of the automation of imports/exports processes of scrap metal consignments," the council announced.
The online permits were aimed to streamline trade operations, enhancing compliance, and improving efficiency in the scrap metal industry.
