Kenya's Balance of Trade Widens to Sh333.4 Billion

1 July 2022
Capital FM (Nairobi)
By Susan Nyawira

Nairobi — Kenya's trade balance continued to widen in the first quarter of 2022 as the country's imports continued to overshadow exports.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates the country's merchandise trade balance widened to a deficit of Sh333.4 billion in the period from a deficit of Sh281.4 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

Even so, the country's account deficit narrowed by 39.7 per cent to Sh95.0 billion from Sh157.5 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2021,

Over the same period, the value of imports increased by 14.5 per cent to Sh 542.5 billion, mainly due to increased imports of petroleum products.

Similarly, export earnings grew by 8.8 per cent to Sh209.1 billion in the first quarter of 2022 as a result of increase in value of exports of tea.

International trade in services receipts increased remarkably from Sh110.9 billion in the first quarter of 2021 to Sh221.5 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

Similarly, services payments grew by 22.9 per cent to Sh122.6 billion in the quarter under review.

Consequently, the surplus in international trade in services grew significantly from Sh11.2 billion in the first quarter of 2021 to Sh98.9 billion in the same quarter of 2022.

Transport and travel services receipts, which have continued to improve, were the major drivers in the review period.

Remittance inflows also continued to improve, increasing by 25.2 per cent from Sh93.1 billion in the first quarter of 2021 to Sh116.6 billion in the first quarter of 2022

In the first quarter of 2022, net financial inflows declined by 14.0 per cent to a surplus of Sh92.2 billion from a surplus of Sh107.3 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2021.

The stock of gross official reserves grew by 14.3 per cent to Sh969.3 billion in the first quarter of 2022 from Sh847.8 billion in the same quarter of 2021, partly as a result of the depreciation of the Kenya shilling to the dollar which exchanged at 114.95 from 109.51 to the dollar at the end of first quarter of 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

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