Browsing: fuel imports

Record-high oil prices in Kenya

For many Kenyans, life was unbearable during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s reign. But just one year after President William Ruto came to power, life is getting more onerous. High taxation, the depreciation of the shilling against the dollar, and record-high fuel prices have highlighted the last few months. This has painted a grim picture of Kenya’s future and shattered citizens’ hopes for economic reinvigoration.
On September 14, 2023, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced record-high fuel prices for the September-October regulation cycle. A litre of super will now retail at Kes 211.64, diesel at Kes 200.90, and Kerosene at Kes 202.61. This represents an increase of Kes 16.96, 21.32, and 33.13, respectively, in the new prices announced last midnight.…

  • Kenyan imports from Saudi Arabia grew three fold to $228 million in March on increased orders of diesel. 
  • This was the highest import value compared to  China’s ($217 million), India’s ($194 million) and the UAE’s ($99 million). 
  • Kenya is using a new procurement system designed to cut pressure on forex demand by adopting 180-day credit from payment on delivery.

Saudi Arabia is currently Kenya’s largest source of imports, underscoring the significance of recent oil import deal according to data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). 

The Middle Eastern country overtook China, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to become Kenya’s biggest single import market for the first time, driven by increased diesel orders. 

KNBS data shows that goods imported from Saudi Arabia grew three fold to $228 million in March on increased orders of diesel from $60 million a month earlier. 

This was the highest import value