Exports Rose by 8.2 percent in 2015 -Bureau of Statistics

The balance of trade improved from a deficit of KSh 1,081 billion recorded in 2014 to a deficit of KSh 997 billion in 2015. Total exports rose by 8.2 percent to KSh 581 billion in 2015 while total imports declined by 2.5 percent to KSh 1,578 billion over the same period.

As a result, the volume of trade increased marginally from KSh 2,156 billion in 2014 to KSh 2,158 billion in 2015. The rise in the total export earnings compared to the decline in the total import bill led to the improvement of export-import ratio from 33.2 per cent in 2014 to 36.8 percent in 2015.

The leading export earners were tea; horticulture; articles of apparel and clothing accessories; and coffee, collectively accounting for 54.6 per cent of the total export merchandise. 7.2. Favourable unit prices of the export commodities coupled with a decline in import prices of mineral fuels resulted to an improvement in the terms of trade for all items to 84.9 per cent in 2015.

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During the review period, Africa remained the leading destination of the country’s exports accounting for 41.7 per cent of total exports. Within the African continent, Uganda continued to be the leading destination of Kenya’s exports, that grew by 12.8 per cent to KSh 69 billion in 2015. Over the review period, Asia continued its dominance as the leading source of the country’s imports despite contracting from KSh 990 billion recorded in 2014 to KSh 982 billion in 2015.

Consequently, the balance of payments position deteriorated from a surplus of KSh 128 billion in 2014 to a deficit of KSh 25 billion in 2015 largely attributed to repayments of external loans. The current account balance improved by 19.5 percent to a deficit of KSh 425 billion, as a result of a 7.4 per cent increase in merchandise exports. The financial account net inflows declined from a surplus of KSh 616 billion in 2014 to a surplus of KSh 498 billion in 2015. This was mainly occasioned by increased bearish activities at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

The value of total exports recorded an increase of 8.2 per cent to KSh 581 billion in 2015, with domestic exports rising to KSh 500 billion as shown in Table 7.1. However, the value of imports decreased by 2.5 per cent from KSh 1,618 billion in 2014 to KSh 1,578 billion in 2015. Consequently, the balance of trade deficit improved from KSh 1,081 billion in 2014 to KSh 997 billion in 2015.

The increase in the value of exports and the decrease in the value of imports resulted in the improvement of the export-import ratio. As a result, exports accounted for 36.8 percent of the import expenditure for 2015 from 33.2 percent in the previous year, and better than the 35.5 percent recorded in 2013.

Mineral fuels export price index contracted by 11.9 percent following the decline in oil prices during the review period. The unit price index for all imports decreased by 2.8 per cent mainly due to a drop of 58.3 per cent of unit price indices of mineral fuels. Decrease in import unit price indices of animal and vegetable oil and fats; and miscellaneous manufactured articles also contributed to the drop in the overall imports unit price.

This compensated for the increase in import prices of machinery and transport equipment; and manufactured goods whose unit price indices rose by 21.1 per cent and 19.0 percent, respectively, in 2015. The unit price index for non-oil imports increased by 20.2 per cent during the review period.

Article by Vera Shawiza.