US extends its run as new largest Kenya goods buyer
President William Ruto with US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer and US ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman at State House, Nairobi. The US has consolidated its new status as the largest buyer of Kenyan goods.
The United States has consolidated its new status as the largest buyer of Kenyan goods, warding off a spirited comeback by Uganda, which it toppled in the first half of this year.
Fresh data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that Kenya’s exports to the US hit Sh52.1 billion in the eight months to August— the highest among all buyers of locally produced goods and extending Washington’s reign as Kenya’s biggest export market.
This performance marks a 22 per cent jump in the value of Kenya’s exports to America between January and August compared to a similar period last year.
Uganda, which lost the crown as the largest buyer of Kenyan goods in the first half of the year, made a strong comeback in the two months to August to net a total of Sh50.56 billion worth of exports from its East Africa Community partner over the eight months.
Kenya’s overall exports to Uganda between January and August this year, however, grew a marginal 2.3 per cent compared to a similar period in 2021.
The US upset Kampala’s dominance as Kenya’s biggest market in the first half of this year, mainly buoyed by the increased sale of clothes.
Official data shows that exports to the US jumped 47 per cent to Sh38.8 billion in the first half of the year even as sales of Kenya-made goods to Uganda dipped marginally to Sh36.2 billion in the same period from Sh36.3 billion in 2021.
Agoa impact
Kenya enjoys substantial duty-free access to the US market through the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), a preferential trade programme for sub-Saharan African countries, but it expires in September 2025.
Kenya exported Sh59.6 billion worth of goods to the US in 2021, of which more than 75 per cent entered duty-free under Agoa -- chiefly apparel, macadamia nuts, coffee, tea, and titanium ores.
The US exported Sh84 billion worth of goods to Kenya in 2021, with aircraft, plastics, machinery, and wheat among the biggest categories. Kenya is currently pursuing a new trade deal with the US to replace Agoa.
Although Uganda remains a significant market for Kenya’s exports, frequent trade disputes over items such as sugar, eggs, and milk have impacted numbers.
For instance, in June Uganda accused Kenya of sparking a trade row by reintroducing a levy on eggs from the neighbour.
Uganda said Kenya is now taxing its eggs at a rate of Sh72 a tray, reinstating a levy that had been suspended last December following bilateral talks between Kampala and Nairobi.
The pair has also feuded over milk and dairy imports from Uganda even though President William Ruto has since announced that Kenya would now allow the shipments into her market.
