Promoting Kenyan exports: a country- and product-specific analysis

Key Messages

Kenya’s exports of goods and services have grown by 28% from $8.9 billion in 2010 to $11.5 billion in 2019. Nevertheless, Kenya’s exports as a percentage of GDP have been gradually falling, from 24% in 2011 to 10% in 2020.
Amid Covid19 in 2020, goods exports managed to grow by 3.3% to $6 billion, buoyed by continued world demand for Kenyan tea, coffee and fruits and a quick rebound in demand for garments.
Major Kenyan products that can be supported for further exporting to meet growing trading partner demand: flowers to the EU, UK or China; clothing to the US; vegetables to the UK or EU; macadamia to the US, EU or China; and tea to the UK or China.
Barriers faced by Kenyan exporters are often product-specific and market-specific. These relate to difficulties in meeting certain standards in certain markets, the lack of trade-related infrastructure (including flights), or a lack of capabilities or productivity.
To boost exports, Kenya should continue its bilateral, regional and international trade engagements; provide technical and financing support to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in value chains and firms producing the identified promising export products; support the development of market- and product-specific standards; and facilitate investment.

This policy brief is extracted from a SET paper, ‘Promoting Kenya’s exports: a country- and product-specific analysis’. It is a part of an emerging analysis series that focuses on Kenya’s trade with the EAC, the rest of Africa, European Union, United Kingdom, United States, China and India.

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Authors

Sherillyn Raga

Maximiliano Mendez-Parra

Dirk Willem te Velde