Quality regulator, the Kenya Bureau of Standards, (Kebs) says it allowed locally manufactured goods to trade using the basic Diamond quality mark to bridge the trade imbalance between Kenya and Tanzania.

Kebs CEO Kioko Mang'eli said Tanzania would overtake Kenya in regional trade if the quality regulator insisted that local manufacturers acquire the standardisation quality Mark Scheme by July 1.

The scheme, an EAC requirement for manufactured goods, is a sign of quality and assures of product safety. The mark also protects manufacturers from competing with inferior goods.

After consultations with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Kebs gave local manufacturers until September to acquire the standardisation mark. There were fears yesterday that some locally produced goods would be barred from entering Tanzania from next week because they were not certified by the Standardisation quality mark scheme.

Tanzania manufacturers moved fast to register their goods with the Standardisation mark as Kenyan manufacturers complained about the rigorous process and expenses involved in acquiring the mark. Kebs said Kenya's Diamond quality mark is superior to the East African Community's Standardisation mark-a prerequisite for goods trading within the region as from July 1.

The manufacturers were expected to acquire the basic standardisation mark of quality to safeguard their presence in the EAC market. Mang'eli said yesterday that Tanzania had overtaken Kenya in inter border trade because their goods were using Tanzania's basic quality marks. Kenya, he said, has been using the more superior Diamond Quality mark scheme.

"Tanzania was exporting four times more than Kenya exported to Tanzania. This means Kenyan goods were not visible in Tanzania" said Mang'eli.

"The Diamond mark is a superior quality compared to the standardization mark, therefore goods already registered with the Diamond scheme can continue trading both locally and in the region," said Mangeli.

Mang'eli said about 1,300 Kenyan products out of the more than 1,500 goods traded across the borders have been verified and issued with the Diamond quality mark and can trade within the region.The standardisation mark was scheduled to come into force on July 1, but most Kenyan manufacturers had not acquired it.

This would have meant that some Kenyans goods would have been blocked from trading within the east African region. Kebs said locally manufactured goods intended for domestic consumption must also bear the standardisation mark by July 1 next year to be allowed to trade.

At a meeting with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) last week, Kebs allowed manufacturers compliant with the Diamond mark of quality not to apply for the East African Community Standardisation Mark scheme.The Diamond mark acquired from Kebs assures the users of goods of quality.

Kebs said the Diamond mark is superior because the process of acquiring it involved the actual inspection of the production lines of companies to verify how the goods are produced.

"We check a lot of things including hygiene in the production process. Manufacturers should also view the process of acquiring the Diamond mark as a way of improving their production process" said Mang'eli.

KAM said companies which have acquired Standards permits for their products will be allowed to continue supplying their products in the market or in the retail outlets including supermarkets using existing labels without the Standardisation Mark until September 30, 2008.

The umbrella body of local manufactures said products with a permit and already in the trade or in the retail outlets including supermarkets will continue to be sold until they are sold out.

Then the manufactures would then be required to acquire the standardization marks. KAM said it had agreed with Kebs that any new product manufactured or released into trade or supplied to retailers from October 1, will be required to bear the regional Standardization Mark and that companies which have not yet acquired permits for their products are still expected to acquire them byJuly, 1, 2008 and the Standardization Mark on their products by September30.

So as to balance the trade between Kenya and other regional countries, Kebs said all imported products will be required to have a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) and Kebs would work out a system on how to mark the products with the Standardization Mark by July1.