Kenya’s Exports to DRC Surge Despite Frosty Relations
In a surprising turn of events, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has surpassed Uganda as Kenya’s fastest-growing export market within the East African Community, despite strained diplomatic ties between Nairobi and Kinshasa.
According to recent data, Kenya’s exports to the DRC shot up by 56.04 percent to Ksh8.62 billion in the first quarter of the year, marking the largest year-on-year growth in over a decade. The significant increase was mainly attributed to the surge in domestic exports of wheat flour to the DRC.
Despite the rocky relationship between the two countries, trade flourished, with Kenyan exports to the DRC remaining consistently high since the reduction in wheat import duties in July last year. The data also revealed that Kenyan traders transported goods worth nearly Ksh23.88 billion in the first nine months of the year.
While DRC still lags behind other EAC destinations for Kenya’s goods, it recorded double-digit growth in share, signaling a promising trend for continued trade relations between the two nations.