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REVEALED: Why your favourite imported brands are missing from shops

By EDWIN OKOTH February 2nd, 2019 1 min read

Confusion at the port of Mombasa, as well as insider sabotage designed to topple efforts to remove counterfeit goods from Kenyan shelves, is the reason some of your favourite imported brands constantly go missing from shops, the Saturday Nation can reveal.

The multi-agency team charged with cleaning up operations at the port has imposed a 100 per cent verification process on imports.

Consumers are also set to face rising commodity prices as the resulting delay in clearing goods makes some products scarce.

The delays, which result in expensive demurrage charges on the imports, are then passed down to the consumers, who will have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for the goods.

Major manufacturers like Coca-Cola, which imports industrial sugar, and East African Breweries have previously reported the delays, which stakeholders say can be minimised if not avoided entirely.

Although senior Trade ministry officials were not available for comment on the practicality of the process and how it could be managed to minimise the market inconveniences it was causing, their juniors involved in the verification said some forces were out to make the process messy and allow for an influx of illicit products.

Read the full story here.

SOURCE: Daily Nation