Western Kenya fruit and vegetable vendors are staring at losses due to supply constraints created by measures to control the spread of Covid-19.
Stocks are rotting due to the dusk-to-dawn curfew that has restricted movement, they said.
As dealers in highly perishable goods, they say the measures introduced by both Kenya and Uganda to curb the spread of Covid-19 spell uncertainty in their trade.
Western Kenya fruit and vegetable vendors are staring at losses due to supply constraints created by measures to control the spread of Covid-19.
Stocks are rotting due to the dusk-to-dawn curfew that has restricted movement, they said.
As dealers in highly perishable goods, they say the measures introduced by both Kenya and Uganda to curb the spread of Covid-19 spell uncertainty in their trade.
“It is now very difficult to import tomatoes from Uganda in bulk following the stringent restrictions put on the movement of people and vehicles,” said Mr Tom Justo, the chairman of Kisumu Tomato Suppliers Group.
Traders now spend up to 10 hours to get clearance at the border of Busia and Malaba as they have to get the nod of medical personnel on both sides of the border.
“It further takes another three to four hours for the vehicles to reach Kisumu. With the curfew which runs until 5am, the earliest we can get tomatoes to the market is 9am to 10am,” he said.
When goods were transported overnight, traders were able to get fresh produce from as early as 6am, Mr Justo said.
The government has included food transporters in the list of essential service providers, meaning they should ideally move at night.
However, there were reported cases of police officers harassing transporters on Friday, which has made some fearful of attempting to move at night.
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