Get a nuts and oil crops licence (macadamia, cashew, groundnut dealer, processor or exporter)
Agriculture and Food Authority · sources read 5 Oct 2026
Anyone who trades, transports, processes, imports or exports scheduled nuts and oil crops (macadamia, cashew, coconut, groundnuts, sunflower, sesame and others) needs a licence from AFA's Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate, applied for on the AFA IMIS portal. A dealer or exporter licence is KSh 5,000 a year, a processor KSh 5,000 or KSh 25,000 depending on turnover, and every licence ends on 30 June.
- Fee
- KSh 5,000Dealer licence: trader, transporter, distributor, marketing agent, nursery, exporter or importer (per year, same to renew)KSh 5,000Processor licence: cottage processor (turnover KSh 5 million a year or less) or new applicant (per year)KSh 25,000Processor licence: established processor (turnover over KSh 5 million a year)KSh 1,000Inspection of a commercial nursery, mother block or farm (per visit)
- How long
- Up to 30 days for a new licence (14 days for exporter or importer licences).
- Deadline
- 1 Jun 2027 Apply to renew by 1 June. Every licence ends on 30 June.
- Where
- Online on AFA IMIS (imis.afa.go.ke), via afa.go.ke > Apply for a Licence
What you need
- Filled application form (grant or renewal)
- Certificate of incorporation or registration, and CR12 or memorandum and articles
- IDs or passports of directors (and work permits where needed)
- Valid county single business permit
- KRA PIN certificate and valid tax compliance certificate
- Exporters and importers: warehouse inspection report
- Processors: facility inspection report, plus NEMA EIA or audit and public health licence where they apply
Steps
- Apply on the AFA IMIS portal (imis.afa.go.ke), choosing the Nuts and Oil Crops licence for what you do: dealer, exporter/importer or processor.
- Upload your company documents, KRA PIN and tax compliance certificate and county business permit.
- Pay the licence fee: KSh 5,000 for a dealer or exporter, KSh 5,000 or KSh 25,000 for a processor.
- AFA decides a new licence within 30 days of a complete application. Exporter and importer licences are due within 14 days.
- Exporters: once licensed, apply for an export permit for every consignment through the single window system.
Watch out
- Raw nuts that are prohibited from export under section 43 of the AFA Act cannot be exported at all. Other raw produce pays an export levy of KSh 2 per kg FOB.
- Dealing or exporting without a licence can mean up to 3 years in jail or a fine of up to KSh 5 million.
- A licence cannot be transferred and only covers the premises it was issued for.
- Registration itself is free: neither AFA nor the county may charge a registration fee.
Who can apply
- Covers coconut, cashew, macadamia, groundnuts, castor, sunflower, rapeseed, jojoba, safflower, sesame, linseed, oil palm and bambara nut.
- You need a licence to aggregate, trade, retail, transport, distribute or warehouse these crops for business.
- Importers and exporters need their own registration and licence.
- Processors (cracking, grading, packing) need a manufacturing licence, and a new factory needs AFA approval before it is built.
Official sources (4)
- The Crops (Nuts and Oil Crops) Regulations (Legal Notice 164 of 2020), as amended by L.N. 26 of 2025 new.kenyalaw.org · read 5 Oct 2026
- Regulation and Compliance - Nuts & Oil Crops afa.go.ke · read 5 Oct 2026
- AFA - Our Crops, Our Wealth (home page) afa.go.ke · read 5 Oct 2026
- AFA IMIS portal imis.afa.go.ke · read 5 Oct 2026