According to fresh data compiled by the State Department of Fisheries, the value of fish imported from China increased by 11.8 percent to a historic high of Ksh1.7 billion in 2018.
The data indicated that Kenya shipped in 22,362 tonnes of Chinese fish, up from 19,127 tonnes that were imported in 2017.
Industry numbers have revealed that Chinese fish supplies have been gaining a foothold in the Kenyan market over the past four years owing to their cheaper price.
According to Paul Oimba, the chairperson of Gikomba Fish Traders, the Chinese fish have really affected local businesses.
“Whereas a 10-kilo carton from China will cost Sh1,800, we sell the same quantity at Sh3,500, making it hard for us to compete,” Oimba lamented to Business Daily.
Lamu County Beach Management Units (BMUs) Chairman Mohamed Somo, on Wednesday, also decried the lack of markets for their fish, claiming that they had been forced to discard coolers and stores full of rotting tuna.
On the other hand, Micheni Ntiba, the Principal Secretary for Fisheries, in an interview with a local daily on Wednesday, insisted that imports were necessary to meet Kenyans’ rising demand for the delicacy.
Ntiba noted that the country had an annual deficit of 365,000 tonnes of fish against a demand of 500,000 tonnes, which could only be filled through imports.
Since 2008, the highest production to be recorded in the country from both marine and aquaculture was 182,000 tonnes, recorded in 2014.
According to the department of fisheries, the catch from Lake Victoria has been dwindling over the years as a result of water hyacinth and restrictions on the fishing area by Uganda and Tanzania, which share the lake with Kenya.
In December 2018, laboratory tests commissioned by The EastAfrican Show disclosed that part of the Chinese fish contained traces of heavy metals, which are harmful to human health.
Earlier in October, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a ban on fish imports from China in a bid to protect the local industry. The ban is yet to be implemented.
