A recent report revealed that intra continental trade between Kenya and fellow African states increased by 26% in the first seven months of 2024 compared to the same period the year prior.
This growth was driven by strengthened bilateral agreements, and increased shipments, as per the economic report from the Central Bank released on Monday.
The report showed that exports increased from 1.53 billion dollars during the same time in 2023 to Sh248.7 billion (about 1.93 billion US dollars) during the same period.
The majority of the East African country’s exports, according to the bank, as seen in the Star newspaper, were sold in South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, where there was a high demand.
Oil and lubricants (reexports), tea, coffee, oil, livestock, vegetable fats, clinker, wheat flour, and manufactured products are the nation’s top exports from East Africa.
On May 9, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya, at the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) in Africa (Kenya), a coffee vendor displayed coffee-related goods (Xinhua).
Transported products from Kenya which are valued at 599.2 million dollars to Uganda, 287.8 million dollars to Tanzania, 185.4 million dollars to Rwanda, and 139.7 million dollars to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the bank said.
Kenya alongside Tanzania, which continues to speak on the removal of trade barriers within Africa, has taken the initiative to deepen its bilateral connections with other African nations, such as Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Rwanda, and Egypt.
