Kenya’s import landscape witnessed a notable 28.3 percent surge in goods from South Africa in 2023, with iron and steel, crucial components in the construction sector, maintaining their dominance as the primary imports from Pretoria.
According to data from the South African Revenue Service (SARS), South Africa exported goods valued at 11.24 billion Rand (equivalent to KES 96.83 billion) to Kenya in the 12 months ending December 2023.
This marks an uptick from the 8.76 billion Rand (KES 75.48 billion) worth of exports sent to Kenya in 2022, further reinforcing South Africa’s advantageous trade balance with its East African counterpart.
In contrast, the value of goods that Kenya sold SA shrank by 16 percent, from 441.69 million Rand (KES 3.8 billion) in 2022 to 371.38 million Rand (KES 3.19 billion) in 2023.
Iron and steel were the largest imports from SA, amounting to 2.21 billion Rand (KES 18.94 billion), followed by mineral products at 1.868 billion Rand (KES 15.98 billion). This was followed by vehicles, aircraft, and vessels at KES 15 billion, and chemicals at 1.22 billion Rand, or KES 10.47 billion.
Despite this, Kenya’s trade with SA managed to cross the KES 100 billion mark in the process.
Kenya is further set to receive a consignment of goods of undisclosed value from South Africa, which will be the first from Pretoria under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) deal.
The AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade area, bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight (8) Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to create a single market for the continent. The aim is to enable the free flow of goods and services across the continent and boost the trading position of Africa in the global market.
