Kenya Gains Access to Chinese Market for Dried Chillies

Kenya Gains Access to Chinese Market for Dried Chillies – What Exporters Need to Do

Kenya’s Plant Health Inspectorate Service has opened export routes for dried chillies to China, outlining strict phytosanitary, safety and packaging rules for farmers and processors.

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The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) announced on 22 October that Kenyan dried chillies can now be shipped to the People’s Republic of China, provided exporters meet a set of phytosanitary, food‑safety and quality standards.

Exporters must register processing and packing facilities with China’s General Administration of Customs through KEPHIS, after those sites have passed a KEPHIS inspection and received approval.

Farmers, aggregators and packhouses are also required to register their production sites and obtain a KEPHIS Phytosanitary Certificate for each consignment destined for China.

The agency stresses the need for traceability systems, Good Agricultural Practices and Integrated Pest Management, with pest‑monitoring records kept for at least two years.

Food‑safety criteria include strict limits on pesticide residues, aflatoxin B1, heavy metals, a ban on Sudan dyes, and a zero‑tolerance policy for Salmonella, while moisture content must not exceed 13 percent.

Export consignments must use clean, approved packaging and meet all labelling requirements set by Chinese authorities.

KEPHIS listed specific quarantine pests that must be absent, including the common bean bruchid, cowpea weevil and khapra beetle.

The service urged interested parties – farmers, exporters, processors and industry bodies – to contact KEPHIS for guidance on registration, certification and compliance procedures.