Browsing: Broad Economic Category (BEC)

• Kenya’s trade deficit rises amidst government push to grow exports 
• The widening trade deficit indicates that the country’s capacity to create jobs locally and support its currency has dropped.
• Similarly, transportation and storage sectors slowed to 3.8 per cent in comparison to 6.6 per cent during the review period.

An increase in the value of imports into Kenya has widened the country’s trade deficit with its partners by Sh20 billion in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same time last year, data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows

This saw the balance of payments widen from Sh110.5 billion in the first quarter of 2023 to Sh131.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024.

The statistics agency attributed this to increased expenditure on leading import commodities of petroleum and industrial machinery, particularly air transport equipment.

The favourable export earnings from tea and horticultural commodities that resulted …