Tanzanian gas dealer makes headways to enter the Kenyan market

Tanzania’s cooking gas supplier, Taifa Gas, has finally found a way into the Kenyan market after rounds of negotiations through the East African secretariat.

The gas supplier has made several unsuccessful attempts to set up operations in Kenya including the setting up of a major gas terminal in Kilifi.

Last week, it made headway into the market during the seventh bilateral trade meeting between Kenya and Tanzania where the team pushed through the barriers Taifa Gas has had trying to invest in Kenya.

Taifa Gas and its setting of operations in Kenya were among the six key issues Tanzania tabled in the negotiations held in Zanzibar.

“Out of the issues presented by the United Republic of Tanzania, six issues were resolved , the delay of clearance of goods due to scanning procedure, delays in issuance of import  permits for dairy products exports, cumbersome procedures by the Kenya Revenue Authority and difficulties experienced by Taifa Gas Tanzania Limited investing in Kenya," read the communique in part.

The gas dealer’s entry into the Kenyan market will mark a major change in the commodity’s supply chain said to be dogged by monopolies that have kept cooking gas out of reach for many households.

Just last week, dealers hiked the price of cooking gas by at least 15 per cent with the cost of refilling a 6kg gas cylinder now increased to between Ksh.1,500-Ksh.1,650 while that of refilling a 13kg cylinder pushed to between Ksh.3,300 to Ksh.3,500.

In Tanzania, Taifa Gas sells a 6kg cylinder together with grill and burner at Tsh.40,000, an equivalent of Ksh.1,970 in Kenya which is not even enough to refill the same size of a cylinder in the country presently.

The difference is partly driven by the Value Added Tax that Kenya levies on its gas, but the entry of a new player is expected to drive competition and lower the prices of the crucial commodity.

The government estimates that at least 75 per cent of households still rely on wood fuel (charcoal and firewood) as their primary cooking fuel, a health hazard that is driving the spread of respiratory illnesses, according to a Ministry of Energy Household Cooking Sector study released in 2020.

“This indicates great exposure to harmful pollutants emitted from burning wood and charcoal. Household Air Pollution (HAP) is one of the largest health risk factors for mortality in Kenya with about 21,560 deaths attributed to HAP annually; this is more than the average number of deaths caused by road accidents,” the ministry wrote in the report.

Kenya also pushed through to have regulations relaxed to allow direct flights by budget carrier Jambo Jet and the waiver of fees charged on tourist vehicles dropping visitors on the Tanzanian side of the Namanga border.