Kenyan exports to the US jump by 47%

• According to the official data, driven by higher sales of clothes, Kenya’s exports to the US leaped by 47 percent to touch Sh38.8 billion in the first half of the year.

According to the official data, driven by higher sales of clothes, Kenya’s exports to the US leaped by 47 percent to touch Sh38.8 billion in the first half of the year.

Kenya has benefitted substantially from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a preferential trade programme for sub-Saharan African countries that gives duty-free access to the US market. In 2021, Kenya exported Sh59.6 billion worth of goods to the US in 2021, mostly by availing duty-free access of AGOA. The principal exports included apparel, macadamia nuts, coffee, tea and titanium ores according to the Congressional Research Service. The US has also surpassed countries like the Netherlands, which has been a gateway of Kenyan flowers to Europe.

So far, Uganda has been the largest importer of Kenyan goods for the past 10 years. Kenya’s exports to Uganda fell slightly at Sh36.2 billion against Sh36.3 billion in the same period last year. Uganda’s imports of edible oil and cement had started falling after its local manufacturing capacity went up. Moreover, Uganda has been getting closer to Tanzania with plans to link up their economies through a crude pipeline and standard gauge railway line.

Also read;

https://trendsnafrica.com/kenya-us-to-restart-trade-talks/

https://trendsnafrica.com/toyota-kenya-acquires-a-35-percent-stake-in-solar-installation-company/

There has been a notable shift in US foreign policy towards Africa recently. The development is significant in light of the continuing trade negotiations between Nairobi and Washington. President Ruto addressing the US-Kenya Executive Business Roundtable in New York, pitched for increased commerce between the two nations.

Pakistan is the third biggest market for Kenyan goods by June this year. Exports to Pakistan grew by 22 percent to Sh31.3 billion. Netherlands and the U K came to the third and fourth position with kenyan exports at Sh29.7 billion and Sh23.7 billion respectively.