Located on the equator and along Africa’s eastern coast, the Republic of Kenya shipped US$6.4 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That calculated dollar amount reflects a -5.1% slowdown over the 5-year period starting from $6.74 billion in 2021.

Year over year, Kenya’s total sales from exports dropped by -22.5% compared to $8.26 billion during 2024.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2025, the Kenyan shilling depreciated by -3.8% against the US dollar from 2024 to 2025. Kenya’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers starting with American currency.

Kenya’s Largest Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 67.7% of products exported from Kenya was bought by importers in: Uganda (11.3% of the Kenyan total), United Arab Emirates (9.1%), United States of America (8%), Pakistan (6.9%), Netherlands (6.5%), Tanzania (5.9%), United Kingdom (5.5%), Rwanda (3.8%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (2.9%), South Sudan (2.7%), Egypt (2.49%), then Saudi Arabia (2.46%).

From a continental perspective, 38.9% of Kenya’s exports by value was delivered to fellow African countries while 30.5% was sold to importers in Asia. Kenya shipped another 21.5% worth of goods to buyers located in Europe.

Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (8.7%), Oceania (0.4%) led by Australia and New Zealand, and Latin America (0.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Given Kenya’s population of 53.4 million people, its total US$6.4 billion in 2025 exported goods translates to roughly $120 for every resident in the East African country. That dollar metric lags the average $160 per person one year earlier in 2024.

Kenya’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Kenyan global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Kenya.

1. Coffee, tea, spices: US$1.7 billion (20.8% of total exports)
2. Mineral fuels including oil: $1.1 billion (12.9%)
3. Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $785.2 million (9.5%)
4. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $294.4 million (3.6%)
5. Fruits, nuts: $292.5 million (3.6%)
6. Vegetables: $281.4 million (3.4%)
7. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $240.6 million (2.9%)
8. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $215.0 million (2.6%)
9. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $182.9 million (2.2%)
10. Pharmaceuticals: $175.2 million (2.1%)

By value, Kenya’s top 10 export product categories generated over three-quarters (78.5%) of the overall value of its global shipments.

Cocoa was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 3,433% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales was unknitted and non-crocheted clothing or accessories via a 90.9% advance.

Kenya’s shipments of copper posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 63.9%.

The lone decliner among Kenya’s top 10 export categories was animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes, posting a -21.2% year-over-year drop.

The above data is at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.

At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, tea including flavored varieties represents Kenya ’s most valuable exported product at 17.9% of the African country’s total. In second place were fresh or dried flowers for bouquets or ornamental purposes (15.7%) trailed by coffee (9.5%), dates, figs, pineapples, mangoes, avocadoes and guavas (4.5%), cocoa beans (2.6%), copper waste and scrap (2.5%), unknitted and non-crocheted men’s suits or trousers (also 2.5%), fixed vegetable fats and oils (2.3%), leguminous vegetables (1.9%) then knitted or crocheted jerseys and pullovers (1.7%).

Products Driving Kenya’s Largest Trading Surpluses

The following types of Kenyan product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Coffee, tea, spices: US$1.7 billion (Up by 1.9% since 2024)
2. Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $1.1 billion (Up by 41.7%)
3. Fruits, nuts: $347.6 million (Up by 34.4%)
4. Vegetables: $266 million (Up by 10.2%)
5. Cocoa: $146.4 million (Reversing a -$15.4 million deficit)
6. Copper: $105.2 million (Up by 125%)
7. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $84.8 million (Down by -16.4%)
8. Gems, precious metals: $71.7 million (Up by 116.6%)
9. Fish: $66.9 million (Up by 76.5%)
10. Oil seeds: $41.9 million (Reversing a -$14.6 million deficit)

Kenya has highly positive net exports in the international trade principally for tea, coffee and spices like ginger, pepper, cloves and vanilla.

Products Behind Kenya’s Worst Trading Deficits

Kenya incurred an estimated -US$17.6 billion trade deficit for 2025, up by 47.2% from -$11.9 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2024.

Below are exports from Kenya that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Kenya’s goods trail Kenyan importer spending on foreign products.

1. Machinery including computers: -US$2.2 billion (Up by 48.1% since 2024)
2. Vehicles: -$2.1 billion (Up by 85.5%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.9 billion (Up by 88.9%)
4. Mineral fuels including oil: -$1.6 billion (Down by -57.3%)
5. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$1.39 billion (Up by 102.3%)
6. Plastics, plastic articles: -$1.37 billion (Up by 72.1%)
7. Iron, steel: -$1.1 billion (Up by 86%)
8. Cereals: -$899.2 million (Down by -25%)
9. Organic chemicals: -$612.9 million (Up by 171.9%)
10. Pharmaceuticals: -$612.9 million (Up by 15.5%)

Kenya has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for mineral fuels, historically for refined petroleum oils, petroleum gases and coal.

Kenyan Export Companies

According to MarcoPolis.net rankings, the following are the top 10 Kenyan companies. Six of these companies are banks, which can support Kenya’s international trade projects.

• Safaricom (telecommunications)
• East African Breweries (beverages)
• Equity Banking (banking)
• Kenya Commercial Bank (banking)
• British American Tobacco (tobacco)
• Standard Chartered Bank (banking)
• Co-operative Bank of Kenya (banking)
• Lafarge-Bamburi Cement (cement)
• Barclays Bank (banking)
• Diamond Trust Bank (banking)

Wikipedia also lists exporters from Kenya. Selected examples are shown below.

• Cooper Motor Corporation (automobiles)
• Kakuzi Limited (coffee, tea, fruits)
• KenolKobil (petroleum)
• Sasini (tea, coffee)
• Total Kenya (petroleum)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Kenya’s total exported goods represent 1.6% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($402 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 1.6% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2025 compares to 2.2% for 2024. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Kenya’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Kenya’s unemployment rate averaged 5.4% for 2025, down from 5.5% one year earlier per statisticsoftheworld.com.

Kenya’s capital city is Nairobi, nicknamed the “Safari Capital of the World” and the “Green City in the Sun”.

See also Kenya’s Top 10 Imports, Uganda’s Top 10 Exports, Coffee Exports by Country, Tea Imports by Country and Tea Exports by Country Plus Average Prices

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Kenya. Accessed on May 17, 2026

EXCHANGE-RATES.org Kenyan Shillan (KES) to US Dollar, Exchange Rate History. Accessed on May 17, 2026

Forbes 2025 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 17, 2026

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 17, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 17, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 17, 2026

The Star (Kenya), Unemployment rate to rise by 2% in 2025–ILO. Accessed on May 17, 2026

MarcoPolis.net, Top 10 Companies in Kenya, Kenya Report. Accessed on May 17, 2026

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on May 17, 2026

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Kenya. Accessed on May 17, 2026

Wikipedia, Kenya. Accessed on May 17, 2026

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on May 17, 2026