- The provisional data collated by the Central Bank of Kenya showed that the country’s exports to US grew by 9.5% last year
- Kenya’s exports to the US are largely under duty- and quota-free Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
Kenya became the second-largest exporter to the US after Uganda when its exports to the US last year recorded the highest growth in a period of the last five years. The provisional data collated by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) showed that the country’s exports to the US grew by 9.5% last year. The value of exports of textiles and apparels overtook Pakistan as per the CBK statistics. Kenya’s exports to the US are largely under duty- and quota-free Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Since mid-2018,when Washington and Nairobi have been exchanging high-powered delegations on trade and security for bilateral talks with authorities. In January this year Nairobi and Washington opened discussions over a bilateral trade deal.
Kenya’s exports to the Netherlands, largely cut flowers rose by 3.33 percent. However, its exports to Pakistan declined due to the economic instability and soaring inflation in Pakistan. In 2017, Pakistan overtook Uganda, the US, and the Netherlands to become the largest buyer of Kenya’s globally-acclaimed black tea.
China is Kenya’s largest trading partner, accounting for 17.2 per cent of Kenya’s total trade. The outbreak of coronavirus and the resultant slowdown in trade is likely to affect the trade dynamics.
