That dollar amount reflects a 23.7% advance over the 5-year period starting from $5.84 billion in 2019.
Year over year, Kenya’s total sales from exports fell by -2.4% compared to $7.4 billion during 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Kenyan shilling depreciated by -37.1% against the US dollar since 2019 and fell by -18.6% from 2022 to 2023. Kenya’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Kenya’s Largest Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 68.3% of products exported from Kenya was bought by importers in: Uganda (12.7% of the Kenyan total), Pakistan (7.9%), Netherlands (7.6%), Tanzania, (6.8%), United States of America (6.4%), United Arab Emirates (5.6%), United Kingdom (5.4%), Rwanda (4.2%), South Sudan (3.2%), Egypt (3.1%), mainland China (2.9%), then the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2.6%).
From a continental perspective, 43.4% of Kenya’s exports by value was delivered to fellow African countries while 27.3% was sold to importers in Asia. Kenya shipped another 22% worth of goods to Europe.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in North America (6.8%), Oceania (0.4%) led by Australia, and Latin America (0.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Given Kenya’s population of 51.5 million people, its total $7.22 billion in 2023 exported goods translates to roughly $140 for every resident in the East African country. That dollar metric lags the average $145 per person one year earlier in 2022.
Kenya’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Kenyan global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Kenya.
- Coffee, tea, spices: US$1.6 billion (22.7% of total exports)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $731.3 million (10.1%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $368.4 million (5.1%)
- Fruits, nuts: $246.1 million (3.4%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $226.3 million (3.1%)
- Vegetables: $222 million (3.1%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $213.4 million (3%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $203.9 million (2.8%)
- Iron, steel: $187 million (2.6%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $185 million (2.6%)
By value, Kenya’s top 10 exports generated close to three-fifths (58.5%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Salt, sulphur, stone and cement was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 31.4% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was the live trees, plants and cut flowers category via a 5.3% increase.
Kenya’s shipments of vegetables posted the other gain in value, up by 3.1%.
The leading decliner among Kenya’s top 10 export categories was the ores, slag and ash grouping, pulled down by a -39.3% year-over-year drop. For example, revenues from titanium ores and concentrates shrank by -41.4% from 2022.
The above data is at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, tea including flavored varieties represents Kenya ’s most valuable exported product at 18.8% of the African country’s total. In second place were fresh or dried flowers for bouquets or ornamental purposes (9.2%) trailed by refined petroleum oils (5%), coffee (3.6%), dates, figs, pineapples, mangoes, avocadoes and guavas (2.6%), hydraulic cements (2.2%), medication mixes in dosage (also 2.2%), titanium ores and concentrates (2%), sheep or goat meat (1.7%) then plated or coated items made from flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel (also 1.7%).
Products Driving Kenya’s Largest Trading Surpluses
The following types of Kenyan product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Coffee, tea, spices: US$1.6 billion (Down by -5.6% since 2022)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $722.1 million (Up by 5.6%)
- Fruits, nuts: $217.3 million (Down by -11.9%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $176.6 million (Up by 108.7%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $149.9 million (Down by -50.7%)
- Vegetables: $143.2 million (Down by -4.9%)
- Meat: $126.3 million (Up by 43.4%)
- Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $101 million (Up by 48.1%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $91 million (Down by -29.6%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $89.4 million (Down by -24.2%)
Kenya has highly positive net exports in the international trade principally for tea, coffee and spices like ginger, pepper, cloves and vanilla.
Products Behind Kenya’s Worst Trading Deficits
Kenya incurred an estimated -US$11.5 billion trade deficit for 2023, down by -16.4% from -$13.7 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.
Below are exports from Kenya that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Kenya’s goods trail Kenyan importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$4.5 billion (Down by -12.3% since 2022)
- Cereals: -$1.25 billion (Up by 5.2%)
- Machinery including computers: -$1.19 billion (Down by -11%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$811.9 million (Down by -19.2%)
- Vehicles: -$763 million (Down by -21.2%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$731.8 million (Down by -13.4%)
- Iron, steel: -$661.5 million (Down by -36.2%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$652.9 million (Down by -20.5%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$449.8 million (Down by -26.2%)
- Fertilizers: -$361.2 million (Up by 1%)
Kenya has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for mineral fuels particularly refined petroleum oils, petroleum gases and coal.
Kenyan Export Companies
According to MarcoPolis.net rankings, the following are the top 10 Kenyan companies. Six of these companies are banks, which can support Kenya’s international trade projects.
- Safaricom (telecommunications)
- East African Breweries (beverages)
- Equity Banking (banking)
- Kenya Commercial Bank (banking)
- British American Tobacco (tobacco)
- Standard Chartered Bank (banking)
- Co-operative Bank of Kenya (banking)
- Lafarge-Bamburi Cement (cement)
- Barclays Bank (banking)
- Diamond Trust Bank (banking)
Wikipedia also lists exporters from Kenya. Selected examples are shown below.
- Cooper Motor Corporation (automobiles)
- Kakuzi Limited (coffee, tea, fruits)
- KenolKobil (petroleum)
- Sasini (tea, coffee)
- Total Kenya (petroleum)
In macroeconomic terms, Kenya’s total exported goods represent 2.1% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($340.3 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 2.1% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 2.4% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Kenya’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Kenya’s unemployment rate was 4.9% going into January 2023, down from 5.6% one year earlier per Trading Economics.
Kenya’s capital city is Nairobi, nicknamed the “Safari Capital of the World” and the “Green City in the Sun”.
See also Kenya’s Top 10 Imports, Uganda’s Top 10 Exports, Coffee Exports by Country, Tea Imports by Country and Tea Exports by Country Plus Average Prices
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Kenya. Accessed on July 20, 2024
Forbes 2023 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 20, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on July 20, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 20, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 20, 2024
MarcoPolis.net, Top 10 Companies in Kenya, Kenya Report. Accessed on July 20, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on July 20, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Kenya. Accessed on July 20, 2024
Wikipedia, Kenya. Accessed on July 20, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on July 20, 2024