Africa is main destination for Kenya’s exports in 2022

Africa was the leading destination for Kenya’s exports in 2022, accounting for 41 percent of the country’s total export earnings, according to the country’s statistics agency.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said in the Economic Survey 2023 released Wednesday that total exports to Africa hit 2.62 billion U.S. dollars last year, with the East African Community (EAC) economic bloc accounting for 63.3 percent of the total exports to Africa.

“Uganda remained the single leading destination of the country’s exports accounting for 11.1 percent of the total export earnings,” said the survey, which is an annual publication that provides socioeconomic information covering a five-year period.

According to the KNBS, total exports to Uganda increased to 713 million dollars in 2022 from 673 million dollars in 2021, largely driven by an increase in exports of crude palm oil.

The statistics agency observed that exports to Tanzania grew 25.9 percent to 421 million dollars in 2022 on account of increased exports of iron and non-alloy steel. And exports to Rwanda increased 31.6 percent to 295 million dollars attributable to growth in palm oil exports in the same period.

The statistics agency noted that total exports to Asia increased from 1.26 billion dollars in 2021 to 1.6 billion dollars in 2022 due to increased exports to Pakistan and China.

The KNBS observed that total exports to China increased 25.9 percent to 202 million dollars in 2022.