Trade PS Chris Kiptoo on Thursday said he was unsuccessful in efforts to reach Dar es Salam authorities
KAM said restrictions on Kenyan goods accessing Tanzania remained intact bringing to question the execution of the Sunday agreement.
The trade disputes came into the limelight after Tanzania wrote to Kenya protesting the ban on LPG and denial of market access to its wheat flour.
Nairobi officials have yet to make contact with Tanzania amid a trade spat that has seen the neighbouring country block the entry of some Kenyan-made goods to its market despite having inked a fresh pact on Sunday.
Trade PS Chris Kiptoo on Thursday said he was unsuccessful in efforts to reach Dar es Salam authorities for explanations on Tanzania’s introduction of fresh hurdles for Kenyan goods to access its market.
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) said Tanzania had maintained a number of restrictions that existed before the Sunday truce making it hard for Kenyan products to access its markets.
Kenyan Foreign Affairs secretary Amina Mohamed and her Tanzanian counterpart Augustine Mahinga announced last Sunday that the two states had agreed to end the restrictions after ironing out long-standing trade differences.
“I am still trying to engage my Tanzanian colleague but so far, I am yet to reach him,” Mr Kiptoo told the Business Daily in a phone interview on Thursday.
Thursday , the traders who were locked in an all-day meeting with the KAM policy team over the issue confirmed the restrictions were still on.
“The status quo remains,” a source from the meeting told the Business Daily.
Kenya lifted restrictions it had imposed on Tanzanian wheat flour and liquefied petroleum gas while Tanzania removed its blockade of Kenyan milk and milk products, and cigarettes.
But the KAM said restrictions on Kenyan goods accessing Tanzania remained intact bringing to question the execution of the Sunday agreement.
Margarine, Ice cream and tobacco were some of the goods facing hurdles in accessing Tanzania, KAM said.
The trade disputes came into the limelight after Tanzania on June 28 wrote to Kenya protesting the ban on LPG and denial of market access to its wheat flour.
The letter came a week after Tanzania postponed a planned meeting with Kenyan officials to resolve the trade disputes, insisting that the restitutions on LPG and wheat flour had to be lifted first.
Tanzania then reciprocated by blocking the entry of Kenyan milk (UHT and Cultured), tiles and margarine into its market.
