IKMİB Organizes Sectoral Trade Delegation to Kenya

The Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB) organized a "Chemical Sector Kenya Sectoral Trade Delegation." The delegation held in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, was attended by 33 representatives from 21 Turkish companies. Over the course of the 4-day event, more than 360 bilateral business meetings took place. İKMİB Board Chairman Adil Pelister noted that Turkey's largest exports to Kenya consist of fertilizers, plastics and plastic products, and inorganic chemicals. The Kenya delegation was the second sectoral trade mission organized by İKMİB covering all subsectors of the chemical industry. The "Chemical Sector Kenya Sectoral Trade Delegation," established to increase chemical sector exports, expand export markets, and increase market share in existing markets, took place in Nairobi between 20-24 November 2022. Led by İKMİB Board Member Ersin Kayalar, the event brought together 33 representatives from 21 Turkish companies operating in 5 sectors: pharmaceuticals-food supplements, cosmetics-cleaning products, plastic household and kitchenware, paints and chemical raw materials. The delegation held more than 360 bilateral business meetings with 167 Kenyan business professionals.

"Our largest export to Kenya is fertilizer"

İKMİB Board Chairman Adil Pelister made the following comments on the matter: "As İKMİB, we continue to support our exporters. In this context, we held the second of our chemical sectoral trade delegations in Kenya, following Uzbekistan. Kenya, with a population exceeding approximately 50 million, is the largest economy in East Africa. The country, which serves as the economic, commercial, financial and logistics hub of East Africa, is an important trade focus and has been selected as a regional center by international companies. According to information we received from our Commercial Attaché, Turkish origin products are increasingly gaining presence in the country. Major developments have been recorded in plastics, cosmetics, cleaning and medical sectors, and in addition, Turkey has become Kenya's largest supplier in fertilizers. Indeed, we see this reflected in our export figures. Looking at ten-month data this year, fertilizers lead Kenya's chemical exports at USD 9.4 million. Plastics and plastic products come in second at USD 8.4 million, followed by inorganic chemicals at USD 5.4 million. In this period, we see the highest growth at 403.61% in organic chemicals. Our total chemical exports to Kenya for the ten-month period amount to USD 36.9 million. Therefore, we can say there is still much ground to cover here. We will also conduct our chemical sectoral trade delegation to Vietnam-Thailand on 12-18 December 2022. I believe that such events will contribute to our exporters expanding their markets and increasing their exports."  

Information Obtained About the Kenya Market

In addition to bilateral business meetings, market visits were conducted at the event where information was obtained on sales channels and price levels. Representatives from the chemicals and paints sector visited major firms in the country, Uchumi Chemicals and Bascopaints, while cosmetics-cleaning-plastics sector representatives conducted market visits. During the four-day program, a visit was made to Turkish Ambassador to Nairobi Subutay Yüksel to discuss trade relations between the two countries and business practices in the country. Visits were made to Pharmacies & Poisons Board, KEMSA (Kenya Medical Supplies Authority) and Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS) to obtain information on pharmaceutical group licensing.