Kenya imports from China in rare decline

KENYA’S imports from China, the country’s leading source of goods, recorded a rare decline in 2023, signalling muted consumption during the year amid a high cost of living.

Data from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC), which is China’s equivalent of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), shows that China exported goods worth US$7,87 billion (Ksh1.26 trillion at current exchange rates) to Kenya last year.

This marks a decline of 1,11 percent compared to the US$7,96 billion (Ksh1.27 trillion) that the Asian giant shows it exported to Kenya in 2022. Such a decline is rare, and not even during the pandemic in 2020 when global trade ground to a near halt did it occur, according to Chinese customs data.

For instance, despite Kenyan authorities indicating that imports from China declined from Ksh376,72 billion in 2019 to Ksh361,36 billion in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese data shows the country exported goods worth Ksh576 billion to Kenya in 2020, an increase from Ksh510,1 billion in 2019. China is a major source of electronics, clothes, beauty products, steel, furniture, equipment and machinery.

The decline in imports from the Asian giant indicates muted demand from local consumers amid high inflation that has reduced the spending power of Kenyans.

According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), non-food imports took a hit during the year, especially due to a slowdown in infrastructure-related spending as well as manufactured goods, oil, and chemicals.

“Imports declined by 14,9 percent in the 12 months to October 2023 compared to a growth of 14.7 percent in a similar period in 2022, mainly reflecting lower imports across all categories except food,” said the CBK.