Economy

China beats India to become Kenya’s top imports source

GOODS

An electronics shop along Luthuli Avenue in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

China has overtaken India to become Kenya’s largest source of imports in the first four months to April, latest data shows.

The value of China’s exports to Kenya rose to Sh93.6 billion from Sh63.6 billion in a similar period last year, moving ahead of India — which has been the largest seller of goods to the local market since 2011.

India’s exports to Kenya dropped to Sh80.6 billion in the period to April from Sh84.5 billion in a similar period last year, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ (KNBS) latest data shows without giving details.

The two Asian nations entrenched their presence in the country with intense economic diplomacy that started with President Mwai Kibaki’s election in 2002. The present regime has also embraced a “look East policy.”

China’s rise is expected to intensify its battle with India. China has recently made major inroads into Kenya with big-ticket contracts in healthcare and energy sectors.

Kenya mainly imports textiles, pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery, vehicles, electronics, motorcycles, tuk tuks and semi-processed goods from India.

Key items imported from China include heavy machinery, electronics, vehicles, textiles and a range of household goods.

Chinese firms are currently undertaking mega infrastructure projects in Kenya such as building the multibillion-shilling standard gauge railway which will eventually link Mombasa to Kampala.

The India-China rivalry has benefited Kenya in terms of foreign direct investments, a wider variety of consumer goods and opened new sources of technical and financial assistance.

Though the rivalry has played out as a battle of the Asian giants, the biggest losers have been the traditional Western trading partners such as Britain whose share of the Kenyan market has been steadily declining.

The April data also shows the falling fortunes of the United Arab Emirates.