Non-Tariff Barriers, Environmental Scanning and Export Performance: the Case of Uganda’s Dairy Exports to Kenya

Abstract

This research was prompted by the significantly low levels of intra-East African Community (EAC) trade, despite the presence of preferential trade agreements in the region. By focusing on Uganda’s dairy sector, the study sought to establish the structure of the sector’s exports, establish the competitiveness of the sector’s exports into the Kenyan market, to determine the extent to which specific Non-Tariff Barriers are hindering dairy exports from Uganda into the Kenyan dairy market and to establish the mediating role of environmental scanning in the relationship between NTBs and export performance of Uganda’s dairy exporters into the Kenyan dairy market.  A cross-sectional survey of all Ugandan milk and cream (concentrated or sweetened) dairy exporters was undertaken. The findings revealed that Uganda’s diary exports are concentrated and dependent on mainly two product categories accounting for 92 % of the dairy exports and that the exports are concentrated in only one export market; Kenya (80%). The most detrimental NTBs were: Procedural Problems, Charges on Imports and Customs & Administration Entry Procedures. They study also established that environmental scanning was not significantly related to NTBs and therefore could not mediate the relationship between NTBs and Export performance.

Keywords: Non-tariff barriers, Environmental scanning, export performance, dairy exports, International business, Uganda