Kenya bets on export diversification to improve trade volumes

Nairobi, Kenya: The Kenyan Government, through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, has reaffirmed its commitment to diversify its export portfolio.

Speaking at the 7th Global Commodities Forum held in Nairobi, Cabinet Secretary for Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, Adan Mohamed said that the expansion of Kenya’s export portfolio is central to accessing foreign markets for trade and investment. 

“Kenya has been proactive as it seeks to create an inclusive business environment for trade expansion and local production capacity building. Examples of this include; the implementations of new laws like the Company and Insolvency Act in 2015 to promote business development, the extension of AGOA treaty to increase our trade capacity and installment of Special Economic Zones to encourage foreign direct investment and create new job opportunities,” said CS Mohamed.  

And added: “Kenya, like a majority of developing countries, relies heavily on income generated from commodity exports. With this in mind, it is prudent to expand this market - beyond agricultural commodity production and invest more on alternative industries like textile and apparel, leather, iron, ICT among others, as we take advantage of price booms in the global market and access to multiple trade opportunities. This focus shift will result in immediate short term economic gains and long-term market stability for Kenya,” said the Cabinet Secretary. 

The changing landscape in export diversification was a key area of discussion at the 2016 Global Commodities Forum, hosted in Kenya for the second time, with the first held in 1976. The Forum a prelude to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 14) will run co-currently with the World Investment Forum (WIF) and bring together representatives from national governments, businesses, international organizations, as well as experts from the private sector, civil society and academia.