Kenya’s exports to the East African Community have declined significantly as Uganda loses its spot as the second major destination of goods from the country.
Uganda, once the main destination of exports from Kenya, was overtaken by Pakistan in 2017, official government data from the statistics bureau released on Monday shows.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the country once again has now been beaten by the Netherlands to the third spot as at May.
In the first five months, according to the KNBS, the country exported to Pakistan goods worth Ksh 27 billion, up from Ksh 24 billion in a similar period in 2017.
The bulk of the exports were done in January and February, where goods worth Ksh 793 billion and Ksh 682 million were exported to the Asian nation.
Kenya mainly exports to Pakistan its world-acclaimed tea, with the nation being the country’s leading market for the beverage. Pakistan controls more than a quarter of the tea traded at the Mombasa auction.
Besides tea, Kenya also exports spices, tobacco, textile fibre, powder milk, soda ash and fresh fruits to Pakistan.
To the Netherlands, Kenya exported goods worth Ksh 21 billion, pushing Uganda to the third spot for the first time. Kenya exports to the European nation consists mainly cut flowers and have risen from Ksh 19 billion during a similar period in 2017, according to KNBS.
Uganda during the five months imported from Kenya goods worth Ksh 21.3 billion , a decline from Ksh 21.9 billion in a similar period last year.
A recent World Bank report noted that Uganda and Tanzania are losing out as top destinations of Kenya’s goods due to cheap imports from Asia.
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Exports to Tanzania in the five months stood at Ksh 10.5 billion, a slight rise from Ksh 81 million in 2017. Tanzania was initially Kenya’s second major export destination.
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