Kenya has shipped its first large-scale batch of 52 tonnes of Silver Cyprinid (locally known as omena) to Changsha Huanghua International Airport in China’s Hunan Province.
This follows a bilateral agreement signed between the two countries in January 2022, a move that ment to benefit citizens both countries.
According to Wu Peng, Director-General, Department of African Affairs, MFA, China, the East Asian country will continue importing the freshwater fish from Kenya.
“I am glad to see the first 52-tonne shipment of Kenyan omena exported to China has been delivered recently. More is on the way. The FOCAC #Green Channel for African agricultural exports to China is bringing tangible benefits to African and Chinese people,” Wu said in a statement.
China started to import anchovies from Kenya in June with a 315kg batch taking a flight to reach Hunan.
Kenyan wild anchovy products
The first batch of Kenyan wild anchovy products made their debut at the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in late June, signaling a new development in China’s efforts to encourage the import of more high-quality African food and agricultural products, expand domestic consumer choice, and increase trade between China and Africa.
The shipment was handled by Huawen Food, a local Kenyan subsidiary of the Jinzai Food Group, and is intended for use in the Chinese snack market.
The company operates out of Kwale on Kenya’s coast, relying on hundreds of local fishermen to supply its processing plant with locally caught ‘omena’ for drying and packaging.
Fishermen in Kwale supply at least 20 tonnes of fish in a month, depending on the season.
Silver Cyprinid value addition
Huawen Food Kenya has been adding value to the ‘Omena’ during processing by infusing different ingredients including, vegetable oil, onions, spices, sauce and chilly to make the snacks in 12-gram packages.
According to Mr. Zhi Yong Liu, the Executive Director of the company, the final product is supplied locally in China and sold in over 30 countries worldwide fetching profits of over Sh120 billion.
In Kenya, the value-added anchovies are sold at selected supermarkets at an average price of Sh900 per packet.
Anchovies are used in a variety of dishes in China, from stir-fries to street snacks and salads to heartier meals such as achovy fried rice.
Chinese fish imports
This development comes at a time when dwindling local fish stocks have left Kenya highly reliant on Chinese fish. Importers have turned to cheaper Chinese imports which are valued at over Sh2 billion. This represents more than 80 per cent of the total Kenyan fish import market share.
This has led to calls for the introduction of a 20 per cent excise duty on imported fish to safeguard local fishers.
