February 19, 2004

 

 

EU and Kenya Reach Fisheries Agreement

 

A EU delegation arrived in Kenya, Africa, on Tuesday to sign a designated fisheries agreement.

   

Speaking in Nairobi during a meeting with officials from Kenyan Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development, head of the EU delegation Constantin Alexandrou said that any agreement signed will be based on the framework of Kenya's fisheries legislation.

   

Alexandrou said his team was on a fact-finding mission to Kenya to establish the priorities of the East African country's national fisheries policy and will assess Kenya's security mechanisms put in place to protect the country's fish resources.

   

The EU delegation's visit to the country comes barely a month after the EU lifted a ban on Kenya's fish export.

   

The ban was lifted after EU inspectors indicated that Kenya had met all the conditions imposed on its exports two years ago.

   

Following the new development, all stringent conditions that restricted Kenya's fish exports to Europe have now been removed.

   

Kenyan officials said the lifting of the restrictions will enable Kenya to raise its fish exports to the lucrative EU market by an estimated 100 percent to hit 16 billion shillings (about 210million US dollars) annually.

   

Kenya produces approximately 200,000 metric tons of fish annually.

   

Close to 30 percent (60,000 metric tons) are exported to fish processing countries.

   

Over the last four years, Kenya has had a limited access to the market due to the restrictions.