That estimated dollar amount reflects a -58% decline from $948.3 million for 2017.
Year over year, the overall value of Rwandan exports plunged by -57.6% compared to $938 million during 2020.
The top 5 most valuable exports from Rwanda by value are coffee, niobium or zirconium ores and concentrates, tea, flour or malt extract food preparations, then unwrought tin. Collectively, Rwanda’s 5 major export goods represent about three-quarters (74.7%) of Rwanda’s shipments in 2021.
Rwanda’s Most Valuable Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 89.4% of products exported from Rwanda were bought by importers in: the Democratic Republic of Congo (32.1% of Rwanda’s global total), United Arab Emirates (29.6%), Uganda (5.3%), Switzerland (4.6%), Pakistan (3.4%), United Kingdom (3.3%), Burundi (also 3.3%), Singapore (2.6%), South Sudan (1.7%), Belgium (1.4%), United States of America (1.1%), then Kenya (1%).
From a continental perspective, 46.5% of Rwanda’s exports by value were delivered to fellow African countries while 40.2% were sold to importers in Asia. Rwanda shipped another 12% worth of goods to Europe.
Smaller percentages went to North America (1.2%), Oceania’s New Zealand and Australia (0.1%), and Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (0.02%).
Given Rwanda’s population of 12.96 million people, its total $398.1 million in 2021 exports translates to roughly $31 for every resident in the Central African nation. That dollar estimate is higher than the average $30 per capita calculated for one year earlier in 2020.
Rwanda’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Rwandan global shipments during 2021, at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Rwanda.
- Coffee, tea, spices: US$146 million (36.7% of total exports)
- Ores, slag, ash: $138.2 million (34.7%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $31.3 million (7.9%)
- Tin: $13.5 million (3.4%)
- Vegetables: $9.7 million (2.4%)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $7.8 million (2%)
- Lead: $4.6 million (1.2%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $3.7 million (0.9%)
- Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $3.3 million (0.8%)
- Machinery including computers: $2.6 million (0.7%)
Rwanda’s top 10 exports accounted for 90.6% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Tin was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 633.6% from 2020 to 2021.
In second place for improving export sales was cereal or milk preparations, via a 312.4% expansion.
Rwanda’s shipments of ores, slag, and ash posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 68.1%.
The leading decliner among Rwanda’s top 10 export categories was gums, resins and miscellaneous vegetable saps, thanks to a -29.4% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, coffee represents Rwanda’s most valuable exported product at 21.4% of the African country’s total. In second place was niobium and zirconium ores or concentrates (15.5%), tea including flavored versions (15.2%), tin ores or concentrates (14.9%), flour, meal, starch or malt extract food preparations (7.6%), unwrought tin (2.8%), fresh or dried flowers for bouquets or ornamental purposes (2%), tungsten ores and concentrates (1.7%), unwrought lead (1.2%), then miscellaneous fresh or chilled vegetables (1.1%).
Products Generating Rwanda’s Best Trade Surpluses
The following types of Rwandan 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.
- Coffee, tea, spices: US$144.6 million (Up by 13.4% since 2020)
- Ores, slag, ash: $134.8 million (Up by 64.8%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $21.7 million (Reversing a -$442,000 deficit)
- Tin: $13.4 million (Up by 819%)
- Vegetables: $8.3 million (Up by 11.1%)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $7.7 million (Up by 33.9%)
- Lead: $3.5 million (Up by 9.8%)
- Plaiting products, basketware, wickerwork: $2.6 million (Up by 162.4%)
- Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $2 million (Down by -46%)
- Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $1.6 million (Down by -31%)
Rwanda has highly positive net exports in the international trade of coffee and tea. In turn, these cashflows indicate Rwanda’s strong competitive advantages under the coffee, tea and spices product category.
Products Causing Rwanda’s Worst Trade Deficits
Rwanda incurred an estimated -$1.665 billion trade deficit for 2021, swelling by 157% from -$647.6 million in red ink one year earlier.
Below are exports from Rwanda that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Rwanda’s goods trail Rwandan importer spending on foreign products.
- Pharmaceuticals: -US$275.2 million (Up by 163.4% since 2020)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$219.2 million (Down by -3.2%)
- Vehicles: -$119.6 million (Up by 30.8%)
- Machinery including computers: -$110.5 million (Down by -6.5%)
- Cereals: -$107.2 million (Up by 75.1%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$84.9 million (Up by 52%)
- Fish: -$62 million (Up by 62.7%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$61.8 million (Down by -39.8%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$60.4 million (Up by 9%)
- Other chemical goods: -$46.9 million (Up by 14.8%)
Rwanda has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the pharmaceuticals and electrical machinery and equipment product categories.
Rwandan Export Companies
Not one Rwandan corporation ranks on the Forbes Global 2000 list.
Wikipedia lists companies from Rwanda that are involved in export-related activities. Selected examples are shown below.
- Access Bank Rwanda (commercial bank)
- Bralirwa Brewery (beer, soft drinks)
- Great Lakes Energy (electricity)
- Rwanda Development Bank (financing institution)
- Terracom (mobile telecommunications)
In macroeconomic terms, Rwanda’s total exported goods represent an estimated .001% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2021 ($32.9 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 0.001% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2021 compares to roughly .01% for 2020. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Rwanda’s total economic performance, albeit based on estimates and a very short timeframe.
Rwanda’s capital city is Kigali.
See also South Sudan’s Top 10 Exports, Somalia’s Top 10 Exports, Top African Export Countries and South Africa’s Top 100 Imported Consumer Products
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on September 9, 2022
Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 9, 2022
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 9, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 9, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 9, 2022
Wikipedia, Flag of Rwanda. Accessed on September 9, 2022
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Rwanda. Accessed on September 9, 2022
Wikipedia, Rwanda. Accessed on September 9, 2022
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Kigali, Rwanda. Accessed on September 9, 2022
