Kenya's Q3 exports down

Source: Xinhua | 2020-01-02

Kenya's value of total exports dropped to 1.45 billion dollars in the third quarter of 2019 from 150.6 billion shillings (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the same of 2018, the national statistics bureau said on Tuesday.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said in a statement that exports to Asia fell from 438 million dollars in the third quarter of 2018 to 380 million dollars in the same quarter of 2019.

"Notable declines in exports to Asia were recorded in the value of total exports to Pakistan (29.4 percent), Saudi Arabia (46.7 percent) and India (46.8 percent). The decrease in domestic exports of tea to Pakistan and re-exports of Kerosene type Jet fuel to Saudi Arabia were the main contributors for the overall decline in total exports to these destinations," KNBS said.

The bureau noted that similarly, a reduction in the export of dried leguminous vegetables to India resulted in a decrease in export revenues from this destination.

"On the contrary, there was an increase in total exports to Singapore, on account of domestic exports of crude petroleum during the quarter under review," it said.

KNBS added total exports to Africa were valued at 567 million dollars and accounted for 38.9 percent of the total exports to the rest of the world during the third quarter of 2019.

According to the government body, total exports to the East African Community bloc grew by 14.3 percent from 312 million dollars in the third quarter of 2018 to 356 million in the third quarter of 2019 largely on account of increased exports to Rwanda and Tanzania which rose by 56 percent and 17.3 percent, respectively.

The statistics agency noted that exports to South Africa, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo jointly reduced from 97 million dollars in the third quarter of 2018 to 62 million dollars in the third quarter of 2019.

According to the government data, Uganda remained the major export destination in Africa accounting for 28.6 percent of the total exports to Africa between July and September of this year.

KNBS observed that total export earnings from the European Union stood at 299 million dollars and was 0.7 percent higher compared to the corresponding quarter of 2018.

The statistics agency revealed that total exports to Belgium and Britain increased by 49.9 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

"The rise was driven by an increase in exports of coffee to Belgium and cut flowers to Britain. On the contrary, total exports to Netherlands and France declined to 100 million dollars and 22 million dollars respectively," it said.

KNBS noted that total exports to the USA stood at 141 million in the third quarter of 2019, a 1.1 percent decline compared to the corresponding quarter of 2018.

The national bureau noted that Kenya's import expenditure in the third quarter of 2019 was 4.1 billion dollars from 4.3 billion dollars in the same quarter of 2018.

The government statistics agency added that Asia remained a major source of imports accounting for 62.6 percent of all imports, as the east African nation sourced goods worth 2.5 billion dollars between July and September 2019, which translated to an 11.1 percent drop compared to a similar period in 2018.

"The drop in imports from China (9.3 percent), India (18.7 percent), South Korea (39.7 percent), and Japan (15.4 percent), contributed largely to the decline in imports from this region in the third quarter of 2019," it said.