Kenya gears up for export-led growth

Kenya is fast tracking a raft of new export strategies to boost growth and bridge the yawning trade gap. This followed a 1.4 percent increase in the trade deficit from $11.3 billion in 2017 to $11.5 billion in 2018.

Kenyan Cabinet Secretary of Trade and Cooperatives Peter Munya said on Wednesday that, despite the country's exports recording a 3.2 percent increase from $5.94 billion in 2017 to $6.13 billion in 2018, imports stood at $17.6 billion in 2018.

The information came a little over a month after the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development warned in a report that commodity-dependent countries were vulnerable to negative commodity price shocks and price volatility.