Kenya spent US$ 3.481bn importing goods and services from China, more than from any other country in the world, but still lower than the peak in 2021.
- An overview of Kenya’s trade landscape, 2023 report commissioned by the UK government lists United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, USA, Japan, Russian Federation, South Africa and Egypt as top ten sources of Kenya’s imports.
- Last year, the total trade (which include import and export) between Kenya and China stood at USD3.481bn with the value of imports from China standing at USD3.275bn.
- Tea and horticulture primarily dominate Kenya exports but other commodities exported also include apparel articles, iron and steel, coffee, edible oils, cement, plastics and rubbers and pharmaceuticals.
“China consistently remained Kenya’s largest trading partner over this period. In 2019, total trade with China amounted to USD3.7bn, dipping slightly to USD3.53 billion in 2020 before reaching a peak of USD4.22 billion in 2021,” according to the report.
Trade with Uganda steadily increased from USD960 million in 2019 to over USD1.18 billion by 2023 showing consistent growth. Other key trading partners include Malaysia, which saw significant growth between 2020 and 2022, the Netherlands, Tanzania and Japan.
Kenya’s exports to Netherlands experienced steady growth from around USD470 million in 2019 to USD 544 million in 2023. Exports to the United States of America increased from USD 508 million in 2019 to over USD618 million by last year.
The main imports include petroleum products, which made up 23 per cent of the import bill in 2023. Additionally, Kenya imports a substantial amount of industrial machinery (7 per cent of total imports), iron and steel (6% of total imports) and edible oil (5% of total imports).
The Overview of Kenya’s Trade Landscape, 2023 report provides examination of key sectors, assessing their contribution to trade volumes, value and overall competitiveness. It identifies areas where Kenya could strengthen local production and address trade deficit which surged Ksh1,375.7 billion (USD12.6 billion) in 2021 to Ksh1,617.6 billion (USD13.72 billion) in 2022 driven by a 30.9 per cent increase in imports outpacing a more modest export growth.
“Addressing trade deficit remains a pressing challenge, driven by higher growth rate in imports compared to exports. Promoting local production across high import sectors such as energy, pharmaceuticals, and automotive will be essential to reducing reliance on imports, stabilizing foreign exchange reserves, and building a more self-reliant economy,”
Another crucial areas are value addition, sustainability, upskilling workforce, infrastructure and supply chain development, investment in research and development.
