NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 28-Kenya’s volume of trade dropped from Sh199.80 billion in September 2020 to Sh198.40 billion in October 2020, a new study shows.
The study by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reveals that the value of total exports decreased from Sh56.41 billion in September 2020 to Sh53.16 billion in October 2020.
However, in the period under review, the value of imports increased from Sh143.39 billion in September 2020 to Sh145.24 billion in October 2020.
Kenya’s Domestic exports by Broad Economic Category (BEC) indicated that food and beverages was the main export category in October 2020 accounting for 43.77 percent of exports, while non-food industrial supplies accounted for 23.65 percent of the total exports.
The quantity of coffee exported decreased from 3,391.49 MT in September 2020 to 2,732.15 MT in October 2020 and its value dropped from Sh1,606.84 million to Sh1,322.08 million over the same period.
At the same time, the quantity of tea exported de-creased from 44,724.70 MT in September 2020 to 43,655.91 MT in October 2020.
The value of exported tea also dropped from Sh10,199.89 million to Sh9,937.34 million over the same period.
Imports by BEC indicate that non-food industrial supplies was the main import category in October 2020 with a share of 42.08 percent.
Machinery and other capital equipment; Fuel and lubricants; and transport equipment accounted for 16.61, 12.33, and 10.02, percent of the total value of imports, respectively.
Foods and beverages accounted for 10.21 percent of the total imports in October 2020.
