New procedures for Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana exports

More than 700 exporters attended workshops on the new mandatory procedures, processes and rates related to exporting to Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana last week. Organised by the French South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the workshops in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town gave exporters clear indications of the various routes they can take to comply with the new regulations. According to Stefan Sakoschek of the French South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, exporters raised much concern over technical procedures and costs involved in exporting to the three African countries. “The workshops were aimed at addressing these concerns and clarifying how exporters can comply with the new regulations and standards that are in place.” In January this year the Kenyan Pre-export Verification of Conformity to standard services kicked in, with Bureau Veritas appointed by the Kenya Bureau of Standards to issue the certificates. Sakoschek said the PVoC programme meant that an importer/exporter has to now lodge a request for a certificate that must include a list and designation of the goods intended to be exported, conformity documents and information relating to the location and provisional date of availability for the goods to be inspected. Once the inspection is completed and the goods comply with the applicable standard, the certificate is issued. Main products affected by the new regulation include food, chemicals, textiles and consumer products, building and related materials as well as mechanical and electrical goods. The same PVoC programme started for all exports to Tanzania from February 1. In terms of Botswana, new regulations state that all imported commodities must be accompanied by a compliance certificate following the implementation of a Standards Import Inspection Regulation.