01Key Takeaways
- Kenya imported $18.60 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 11.83% from $21.10 billion in 2022.
- Mineral fuels led every import category at 26.00% ($4.84 billion), reshaped by a new government-to-government fuel deal with Gulf oil majors.
- China supplied 17.61% of Kenya's imports, worth $3.28 billion, narrowly ahead of the UAE at 15.78% ($2.94 billion).
- Malaysia now supplies about 97% of Kenya's palm oil, a near-total shift from a market that was far more diversified just a few years earlier.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $17.2B | $15.4B | $19.6B | $21.1B | $18.6B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $3.3B | 17.6% |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates | $2.9B | 15.8% |
| 3 | India | $1.9B | 10.3% |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | $1.0B | 5.6% |
| 5 | Malaysia | $859.9M | 4.6% |
| 6 | United States | $807.4M | 4.3% |
| 7 | Japan | $695.4M | 3.7% |
| 8 | Russia | $590.4M | 3.2% |
| 9 | South Africa | $548.3M | 2.9% |
| 10 | Egypt | $353.7M | 1.9% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $4.8B | 26.0% |
| 2 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $1.3B | 6.9% |
| 3 | Cereals | $1.3B | 6.8% |
| 4 | Animal or Vegetable Fats and Oils and their Cleavage Products; Prepared Edible Fats; Animal or Vegetable Waxes | $952.1M | 5.1% |
| 5 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $900.7M | 4.8% |
| 6 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $873.8M | 4.7% |
| 7 | Iron and Steel | $843.3M | 4.5% |
| 8 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $804.3M | 4.3% |
| 9 | Pharmaceutical Products | $612.5M | 3.3% |
| 10 | Fertilisers | $451.2M | 2.4% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
A New Gulf Fuel Deal Reshaped Kenya's Biggest Import Category
Kenya imported $18.60 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 11.83% from $21.10 billion in 2022. Mineral fuels topped every import category by a wide margin, at 26.00% of the total, worth $4.84 billion. Kenya produces almost no oil of its own, so nearly all of that fuel arrives by sea. Since March 2023, Saudi Aramco, the Emirates National Oil Company and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company have supplied Kenya with fuel on 180-day credit terms under a government-to-government deal that replaced the country's previous competitive tender system. That arrangement is a big part of why Gulf countries now sit so close to the top of Kenya's import list. The switch from an open, competitive tender to a handpicked set of suppliers on extended credit changes not just who Kenya buys fuel from but how quickly that spending shows up in official trade figures.
Machinery ranked second at 6.92% ($1.29 billion), and cereals followed at 6.84% ($1.27 billion), a category dominated by wheat. Animal, vegetable and microbial fats and oils added 5.12% ($952.12 million), driven overwhelmingly by palm oil. Malaysia's share of Kenya's palm oil imports climbed from just 31% in 2018 to 97% by 2022, squeezing out competitors as Indonesia scaled back its own export volumes. Electrical machinery contributed 4.84% ($900.73 million), and vehicles added 4.70% ($873.85 million). Iron and steel supplied 4.53% ($843.33 million), and plastics contributed 4.32% ($804.31 million), the kind of manufactured goods a country with a smaller industrial base has to buy in rather than produce at home. Pharmaceutical products contributed 3.29% ($612.46 million), and fertilizers added 2.43% ($451.17 million), an input that matters directly for the tea, coffee and horticulture industries covered on the export side of Kenya's trade.
China Leads, But the Gulf and Asia Fill Out the Rest of the List
China supplied 17.61% of Kenya's imports in 2023, worth $3.28 billion, narrowly ahead of United Arab Emirates at 15.78% ($2.94 billion). India ranked third at 10.32% ($1.92 billion), rounding out a top three that made up 43.71% of total import value. India's position on this list traces partly to pharmaceuticals, since Indian manufacturers supply a large share of the generic medicines sold across East Africa, alongside textiles, rice and other consumer goods that regularly move between the two countries.
Saudi Arabia added 5.57% ($1.04 billion), another partner tied directly to the new Gulf fuel supply deal. Malaysia contributed 4.62% ($859.86 million), almost entirely palm oil, and United States supplied 4.34% ($807.35 million). Japan added 3.74% ($695.41 million), largely vehicles and machinery. Russia was Kenya's fastest-growing import source in a recent quarter. That growth was driven almost entirely by wheat purchases, which jumped nearly 63% in volume. Russia closed the year at 3.17% ($590.39 million) of Kenya's total imports, a share that has grown as Kenya has leaned more heavily on Russian grain to cover its wheat needs. South Africa contributed 2.95% ($548.33 million), and Egypt closed out the top ten at 1.90% ($353.73 million).
Imports Pulled Back Sharply From a 2022 Peak
Kenya's import total climbed for three straight years before falling back in 2023. It stood at $17.21 billion in 2019, then fell to $15.41 billion in 2020 as the pandemic slowed global trade. It recovered to $19.59 billion in 2021, then climbed further to $21.10 billion in 2022, the high point of this five-year stretch. The 2023 figure of $18.60 billion, down 11.83% year over year, gave back a meaningful share of that 2022 gain.
Global fuel and grain prices both eased significantly from their 2022 peaks, which likely explains much of that pullback given how heavily mineral fuels and cereals weigh on Kenya's import bill. The new government-to-government fuel arrangement, running on credit rather than upfront cash purchases, may also have changed how import costs get recorded and timed across the two years. Either way, the 2023 total still sits well above where imports stood before 2021, a sign that Kenya's underlying demand for fuel, food and manufactured goods has grown even as the year-over-year comparison shows a decline. Watching this import series alongside Kenya's export total tells a fuller story than either number does alone. Exports held nearly steady in 2023 while imports fell sharply, a combination that would typically narrow Kenya's trade deficit even though the country still buys far more from abroad than it sells.