China imports value dips by 22 per cent

The value of goods Kenya imported from China declined 22 per cent over the first quarter of 2018. Imports from the Asian country dropped to Sh88 billion over the first three months, from Sh113 billion a similar period last year, according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

It is the first time quarterly imports from China have declined in years. The decline is against the completion of the first phase of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) between Mombasa and Nairobi in April last year and commissioned on June 1, last year. 

The SGR contractors had, during the first quarter of last year, brought in some of the equipment that would be used in operation of the new railway, resulting in a spike in the value of imports to Sh113 billion, compared to Sh72 billion in 2016.

Despite the drop, China remained the largest source of imports for Kenya, with trade between the two heavily skewed in the Asian country's favour.

Last year Kenya imported goods worth Sh400 billion from China, which translated to about 20 per cent of the Sh1.7 trillion total import bill.

India was the largest exporter to Kenya in 2014 but has declined since then.