Deputy President William Ruto, on Monday, February 14, revealed how his government will use avocados to clear Kenya's mega debt owed to China.
Speaking in Nyeri where he was explaining his bottom-up economic model, the DP noted that his administration would export avocados to the Chinese market which imports avocados in bulk.
He noted that they would sell the fruit, which retails locally between Ksh10 and 20, at the international market prices of Ksh150.
"In China, an avocado that is sold at Ksh20 here is sold at Ksh150 while in Europe, it is Ksh128 (one Euro), we must open that market.
Opening the Chinese market will be easier because we already owe the Chinese hundreds of billions in loans. We will tell them that there is no other way to pay off the debt, take these avocados at this cost, and we will pay the debt quickly," the DP stated.
Ruto noted that the two countries would mutually benefit from the modern-day barter trade system, which he termed as economic diplomacy. He added that he would increase the number of ambassadors in the Asian nation from one to three.
"They have helped us build roads and the railway line, which we are grateful for but we will also tell them to take this. Scratch my back I scratch yours. We should even have three ambassadors who will live in China to market our products," he remarked.
The UDA presidential aspirant added that his government would ensure value addition to agricultural products while at the same time reducing dependence on imported products by reducing the cost of producing them locally.
Apart from opening the international markets, he revealed plans to capitalise on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to tap into the continental marketplace.
"Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has a population of 90 million people buy their milk from Australia and New Zealand yet that is our market. If we can double our milk production and sell it to them, then we can generate revenue," he stated.
The DP promised to bring the agricultural sector back to its feet by enacting legislation to protect the farmer from unfair trade practices especially by foreign companies.
The deputy presidents sentiments came a few days after Kenya was listed as one of the five countries that are at the risk of economic collapse due to huge debts.
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