A record 147 per cent growth in April exports has restored Uganda as a top market for Kenya’s industrial merchandise, official statistics show.
Provisional data produced by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that monthly exports to Uganda grew by a record Sh11.43 billion in the month of April, translating to four-month performance of Sh23.5 billion.
The national statistics agency has also revised February export figures to Uganda, from Sh21.9 million that it has been reporting up to last month to Sh3.51 billion.
The upward revision also affects February exports to Tanzania which have been adjusted from Sh115.37 million reported last month to Sh2.08 billion.
The January to April cumulative export to Uganda represents a 34 growth compared to the same period last year and overtakes Netherlands which topped the list in the first quarter of the year.
Kenya’s exports to Netherlands dropped 27 per cent in the month of April, translating to a four-month performance of Sh15.37 billion.
Last month, the KNBS caused uproar when it reported a 35 per cent drop in exports to Uganda in the first quarter of the year, ending the landlocked state’s dominance as Kenya’s top market for industrial merchandise.
The latest data suggest that the UK may well be on its way to finish the year at its traditional position as Kenya’s second largest market for exports.
The UK which has just voted to pull itself out of European Union, has closed its gap with Netherlands with latest figures showing it absorbed Sh13.95 billion worth of Kenya’s exports — just Sh1.42 billion behind the Netherland market.
Netherlands mainly orders Kenya’s flowers which currently enjoys high season in Europe.
It is a member of the European Union which has said the East African Community must sign the economic partnership agreements by October for Kenya to continue enjoying the duty-quota-free terms of exports.
Tanzania — which has been consistent in the recent past as third top export destination after Uganda and UK — remains relegated to the seventh position despite a 27 per cent growth in exports compared to the same period last year.
Exports to Tanzania increased to Sh9.93 billion in the first four months of the year, down from Sh7.81 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Exports to the US hit Sh12.1 billion in the first four months of the year with textile makes remaining the top beneficiaries of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
The Agoa window allows Kenyans goods to sell in the world’s largest economy without duty payment.
Source: Business Daily
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.
