This archive report was first published on 5 June 2020.
Kenya's economy took a hit in April as the country's trading value with international counterparts declined by Sh39 billion. This decline reflects the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country's economic activities.
According to a report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the country's trade value reduced from Sh202.25 billion in March 2020 to Sh162.97 billion in April 2020. This decline affected the overall value of exports.
KNBS data reveals that the value of total exports decreased from Sh64.48 billion in March 2020 to Sh43.21 billion in April 2020. The quantity of coffee exported also decreased from 4,604.42 MT in March 2020 to 4,395.52 MT in April 2020, despite its value rising from Sh2,410.16 million to Sh2,590.20 million over the same period.
However, income from tea shipped abroad rose from Sh11,665.48 million to Sh13,216.71 million over the same period, with production increasing from 51,440.71 MT in March 2020 to 57,949.33 MT in April 2020.
Despite the decline in exports, the country's exports in the year to April were up, garnering Sh221.9 billion from Sh205.7 billion in the first four months of 2019.
The report comes at a time when countries globally have moved to limit movement in and out of their regions to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has affected the country's exports, particularly for major export earners such as tea, horticulture, and coffee, which are largely sold raw.
Exports to Uganda declined to Sh2.3 billion in April from Sh5.3 billion in March, while exports to the United Kingdom grew to Sh4.4 billion from Sh4.3 billion in March. Imports from China hit Sh21 billion from Sh16.2 billion in March, while imports from India fell by half to Sh11.7 billion from Sh21.3 billion.
