Fresh fears have engulfed the Kenyan export sector after a fresh wave of Covid-19 was reported to have hit the Asian giant economy.
The new reports have shown that there is an upsurge of yet another round of infection of Covid-19 in China, prompting the country’s government officials to shut down some of the key trading harbors in the country.
On the wake of the new upsurge – that has since occasioned the closure of schools, among other institutions – it looks like the country is yet again reverting to its formative mechanisms that were used to curb the first wave of Covid-19 menace in the country. A good number of ports have since been closed once again.
Several Chinese ports are facing congestion as vessels due for Ningbo port are being diverted and cargo processing is slowed down partly as a result of stricter disinfection measures under China’s “zero-tolerance” coronavirus policy.
Countries in Africa, and in particular Kenya, have been great beneficiaries of their partnership with China.
For example, China boasts as the largest trade partner to Kenya, followed by India then United Arabs Emirates (UAE). Official data shows that Kenya’s imports from China stood at Sh208.9 billion in the six months to June, representing a 32 percent rise from Sh157.87 billion recorded in a similar period of 2020.
The current situation has pushed Kenya to start considering its options when thinking of trading with China. Kenya Association of Manufacturers has issued a report that the country is monitoring the situation in Beijing very closely.
“The association is constantly monitoring global trends on logistics matters, including possible delays and disruptions that may occur due to the sudden surge of Covid-19 cases and consequent measures to mitigate its spread,” the lobby at the time.
China is the country in the world where the first case of coronavirus was reported before they took drastic measures to curb its spread.
Related: Kenya To Start Its Own Covid-19 Vaccine Production By April 2021
