India pips China to take top trading spot with Kenya

By Macharia Kamau

India remained the market of choice for Kenya for the better part of this year with imports from the Asian country reaching Sh208.6 billion in the first ten months.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that India is the largest source of goods to Kenya, accounting for about 20 per cent of the imports.

In the ten months to October, Kenya’s total import bill stood at Sh1.17 trillion, which is in comparison to Sh923 billion worth of imports by Kenya over a similar period in 2012.

The rise in the money spent on imports by Kenya compares with the exports that stood at Sh380 billion for the ten months to October.

Ties with china

On the other hand, imports from China stood at Sh146.7 billion, a clear show that India is ahead of its Asianneighbour, despite the hype about African ties with China. While Chinese activities may have been more pronounced in Kenya and generally Africa, the two Asian countries have been battling to be the next major influence in Africa.

The two countries have been positioning as key trade partners, source of credit and even socio-cultural points of reference for Africa. According to the Economic Survey 2013, the value of imports from India stood at Sh195 billion in 2012 while Kenyans spent Sh167 billion on imports from China.  Combined, imports from the two Asian countries at Sh362 billion accounted for about 30 per cent of the Sh1.37 trillion that was the value of total imports to Kenya in 2012. China’s presence in Africa has been led by the State while India’s intervention is led by the private sector.

While the two may not exactly replace Europe’s place in relations with Africa, they have made significant inroads by way of financing mega infrastructure projects.

Their private sector firms have made investments in the country.