In a growing dispute over cross-border trade, Brookside Uganda is accusing the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) of selectively approving the necessary documents required for its Dairy Fresh brand to be imported into the Kenyan market.
While Ugandan milk brands like Lato and Dairy Top are easily finding their way across the border, Brookside claims the KDB has denied import permits for its Dairy Fresh product. Traders in parts of the Rift Valley and Western Kenya have confirmed the availability of the Ugandan brands, suggesting the KDB has allowed their importation.
Brookside’s General Manager in Kampala, Benson Mwangi, said the processor has not received any response from the KDB on the fate of 114 export permits it had applied for, and that several reminders to the Kenyan dairy regulator had fallen on deaf ears.
However, the KDB Managing Director, Margaret Kibogy, dismissed the claims, stating that trade between Kenya and Uganda is smooth. She said the KDB will continue supporting Brookside and all other processors to make the dairy industry vibrant and attractive.
The dispute comes amid a broader backdrop of non-tariff barriers hampering trade between the two East African neighbors, particularly in sectors like dairy, poultry, fish, and sugar. Despite Kenya being Uganda’s biggest export market, the two countries have experienced back-to-back trade tiffs, which are often blamed on protectionism.
Traders are now calling on the Kenyan and Ugandan governments to review and solve the impasse, to give consumers a wider choice of dairy products. Mwangi expressed optimism that the recent communiqué signed by the two heads of state could unlock the trade barriers affecting Brookside’s dairy exports to Kenya.
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