Kenya to push for deals with India to address trade imbalance

Trade imbalance between Kenya and India will likely feature in talks between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

For long, trade between the two countries has always been in favour of India.

Records show from 2012 to 2015, the trade deficit has grown from Sh370 billion to Sh400 billion.

Yesterday, State House spokesperson Manoah Esipisu said Kenya will also urge that her goods be granted preferential status by the Indian authorities.

Good relations are said to have boosted trade between the two countries, with the latest statistics from the High Commissioner's office indicating that a total of Sh209 billion worth of goods have been traded.

By April this year, India had exported a total of Sh201.8 billion to Kenya against imports totalling Sh7.8 billion. 

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In 2015, Kenya imported Sh411.8 billion worth of goods from India and exported Sh11.7 billion. In 2014, Indian exports totalled Sh389.3 billion against Sh12.7 billion imports.

Between 2012 and 2013, India exports to Kenya totalled Sh377 billion against Sh10.6 billion in imports.

"But we are looking forward to source more of processed agricultural produce, soda ash and tea from Kenya in order to level the imbalance," said India High Commissioner Suchitra Durai.

Kenya imports a lot of pharmaceuticals, machinery, steel products, power transmission equipment, yarn, and automobiles from India while the latter imports tea, vegetables, leather, soda ash and scrap metal from Kenya.

Apart from sharing challenges such as inequality and poverty, the two countries also have financial services and agriculture as major economy drivers.

Kenya may be dragging in its exports to India, but the country is still winning as a tourist destination.

"Last year, we had 50,000 Indians coming to Kenya as tourists. We are actually providing the third largest number of tourists after the UK and the US," said Ms Durai.

Indian investments in the country contribute Sh350 billion annually to the economy.