Watchdog raises flag over fake engine oils

The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) has raised alarm over a thriving trade in fake lubricants in the local market, which has badly affected performance of vehicles' engines.

Lubricants are used in vehicles, machinery, and equipment to enhance their performance and cut friction. Local trade in engine oils is regulated by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra).

Engine oils are an easy target for counterfeiters as it is not as easy to distinguish the genuine from the fake as compared with other high-selling products, and accompanying prices that they fetch in the market.

ACA now says unscrupulous traders have flooded the market working in cahoots with dealers, mechanics, and even manufacturers to perpetuate their trade, leaving victims with worn-out vehicle and machine parts.

It is still unclear on the actual proportion of lubricants being sold in the market that are fake, but it is estimated it can be as high as 20 per cent.

“They are unscrupulous traders, operating with makeshift dealers, mechanics, and manufacturers in the light industries in most major towns,” the agency told the Saturday Nation.

In 2020, ACA seized counterfeit lubricants of an undisclosed value along the Kenya-Uganda border at Lwakhakha, Bungoma in a multi-agency operation.

“In the last five years we seized products worth over Sh65 million in different operations in Nairobi and also with other government agencies like Epra,” said the authority.

Data from the National Observatory on Illicit Trade shows local firms are losing about Sh1.9 billion annually through counterfeiting of products by unscrupulous dealers equating to 432 loss of employment resulting from the trade.

It shows the size of illicit trade in the country is valued at about Sh826 billion, with the government losing about Sh2.1 billion in revenue every year thus affecting the country’s revenue performance.

Abroad, several vehicle explosions, overheating, and fires have occurred due to engine malfunctions linked to accumulated effects of fake lubricants.

“These products are made of poor-quality ingredients and danger to engines and engine parts. They can cause technical defects which can bring risks of accidents and machine breakdowns and increased cost of operation,” said ACA.

Vivo Energy Kenya – the leading oil marketing firm in the country – said oil firms are losing both revenues as well as taking hits to their reputation due to the fake oils.

“As an organisation, we do recognise there is an issue of counterfeit products in the country. Oil marketing companies must take all necessary precautions to avoid volume loss and guard against potential reputational damage,” Vivo told Saturday Nation.

Vivo – the marketer of Shell-branded products in Kenya – says car owners must look for several features to differentiate between genuine and counterfeit lubricants, including checking that the pilfer rings on the cap of every lubricant they buy are intact.

“There is also the need to check that the batch number on the pail is legible and should tally with the batch number on the carton. When the cap is opened, the pilfer ring should remain on the pack and should not come off with the cap,” said the company.

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