Kenya Quarterly Balance of Payments First Quarter, 2021

The current account deficit expanded by 16.6 per cent from KSh 121.7 billion in the first quarter of 2020 to KSh 142.0 billion in the first quarter of 2021. This was mainly on account of the merchandise trade deficit which widened by 26.9 per cent to KSh 287.3 billion in the same quarter. The value of imports on f.o.b basis grew by 17.7 per cent compared to an increase of 6.2 per cent in exports resulting into the expansion of the merchandise trade deficit during the first quarter of 2021. Increased imports of non-food industrial supplies pushed the import bill. The growth in export earnings was supported by increase in exports of horticulture mainly due to normalization in international demand.