Taita Taveta leaders have asked officials manning the Kenya-Tanzania border at Taveta town to accommodate traders operating along the Taveta Holili One Stop Border Post to bolster trade between the two countries.
Deputy Governor Christine Kilalo said on Saturday that the border town is key in promoting agricultural trade between Kenya and Tanzania.
Hundreds of traders in Kenya and neighbouring Tanzania use the market to sell vegetables, fruits and other farm products.
Kilalo said Kenyan farmers have been facing difficulties in selling their agricultural products across the border due to strict regulations from the Tanzanian side.
“We are asking those responsible to ease the process of selling our products to the Tanzanian market. This town is ideal for the two countries and should therefore be promoted,” Kilalo said during the Taveta Subcounty police end-of-the-year party.
She asked the Border Management Committee to support easy movement of traders to promote regional trade.
The support, she said, will also encourage growth of small enterprises in the county.
"We are keen on tapping the cross-border trade which will ultimately boost the county's economy," the deputy governor said.
The call comes as the region awaits construction of a modern market at the border area.
The East Africa Community plans to put up a market with European Union funding in at least 50 acres of land along the border to strengthen the cross-border trade between the two countries.
Once completed, the market is expected to transform the town to a regional business hub, thus attracting investors and trading partners.
Kilalo said improved road transport linking Kenya and Tanzania has created an avenue for traders to access the market.
“The Voi-Taveta-Holili highway has opened up the border town to potential investors. We are in talks with different investors who can capitalise on the potential,” she noted.
The county is also working on completion of a banana processing and value-addition plant in Taveta to boost banana farming in the region, which is among the leading producers in the country.
