Kenya losing exports to cheap Chinese substitutes

The curtains may soon come down on Kenya’s golden days of being the main exporter into its two prime markets of Tanzania and Uganda.

A new World Bank report shows that cheap Chinese products have been slowly displacing Kenyan manufactured products from these markets.

The report, titled ‘Deal or No Deal: Strictly Business for China in Kenya?’ found that between 2008 and 2014 manufacturing exports to Tanzania fell 36.1%. And, although exports to Uganda increased by 4.5%, the growth was slowing.