Sunday, July 21, 2024 - Kenya's key export sectors are grappling with a significant downturn, as new figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) reveal alarming drops in the country's coffee, tea, and cut flower exports.
This is despite Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua undertaking some reforms in the coffee and tea sectors; reforms that seem to have made the situation worse.
The latest Leading Economic Indicators report exposes the
fragile state of these industries, highlighting a troubling trend for Kenya's
economy.
The May 2024 report unveils a sharp decline in the export
volumes of coffee, tea, and cut flowers. Coffee exports fell from 5.4 thousand
metric tonnes in April 2024 to 4.7 thousand metric tonnes in May 2024, a
reduction mirrored by a drop in value from Ksh3.9 billion to Ksh3.6 billion.
Tea exports suffered a similar fate, with quantities shrinking
from 56.3 thousand metric tonnes to 51.6 thousand metric tonnes and values
decreasing from Ksh17.3 billion to Ksh15.6 billion.
In a worrying trend, the once-thriving cut flower sector also
saw its exports plummet. The volume of exported flowers tumbled from 16.1
thousand metric tonnes in February 2024 to 8.7 thousand metric tonnes in March
2024, accompanied by a staggering drop in value from Ksh13.3 billion to Ksh6.1
billion.
This decline is exacerbated by a broader decrease in trade
volumes. Kenya's total trade value fell from Ksh329.1 billion in April to
Ksh307.1 billion in May, though the overall export value saw a slight increase
from Ksh92.9 billion to Ksh94.5 billion.
Conversely, the total import value also saw a decline, dropping
from Ksh236.2 billion to Ksh212.6 billion over the same period.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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