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Africa

Export to Kenya

East Africa's trade gateway via Mombasa. Buys medicines, vehicles, steel and rice; KEBS pre-shipment checks apply.

Capital
Nairobi
Currency
KES
Trade agreement with India
None
Main ports
Mombasa, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi

Kenya has no trade agreement with India, but Mombasa port serves Kenya and its landlocked neighbours (Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan). A long-settled Indian-origin business community makes it easier to find buyers. Most regulated goods must be inspected in India before shipping under Kenya's pre-export verification programme.

What it buys from India

  • Petroleum products
  • Medicines and pharmaceutical products
  • Vehicles, auto parts, machinery and steel
  • Rice, sugar and other food

Import rules on their side

  • Regulated goods need a Certificate of Conformity under KEBS's Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) programme, issued by an appointed inspection agency before shipment. Without it, goods face penalties or are sent back.
  • Plants and plant products need an import permit and inspection by KEPHIS; documents are lodged on the KenTrade single window.
  • Medicines need registration with Kenya's Pharmacy and Poisons Board.

Practical tips

  • Ask for advance payment or a confirmed LC; check ECGC's cover for Kenya before giving credit.
  • Book the PVoC inspection early in your production plan — it is done in India before loading.
  • Kenya applies the East African Community common external tariff, so a Kenyan importer can also supply Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
Sources (5)
  1. Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) — PVoC programme
  2. KenTrade — Kenya National Electronic Single Window
  3. Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)
  4. Kenya Revenue Authority (customs)
  5. Department of Commerce — TradeStat export-import data bank

Trade data

India’s exports to Kenya in numbers

From the Department of Commerce’s TradeStat (Indian financial years, April–March), the country’s imports from the world from UN Comtrade, and its basics from the World Bank.

India’s exports here, 2025-26
US$ 4.02 bn
No. 32 of our 80 countries
Change from 2024-25
↑ +28.2%
US$ 3.13 bn → US$ 4.02 bn
Share of all Indian exports
0.91%
Its imports from the world
US$ 20.2 bn
2024 · India’s share 9.73%
2020-21: US$ 1.9 bn1.9k2020-212021-22: US$ 2.63 bn2.6k2021-222022-23: US$ 3.27 bn3.3k2022-23n/a2023-242024-25: US$ 3.13 bn3.1k2024-252025-26: US$ 4.02 bn4.0k2025-26
India’s exports to Kenya, year by year · US$ million · TradeStat’s 2023-24 country table is double-counted, so it is not shown

What India sells here most

By HS chapter, 2025-26. Change is against 2024-25.

Name2025-26Change
1Fuels and petroleum productsHS 27US$ 1.1 bn+36%
2MachineryHS 84US$ 444 mn+43.7%
3Medicines and pharmaHS 30US$ 364 mn-5.8%
4Cereals (rice, wheat, maize)HS 10US$ 299 mn+84.2%
5Vehicles and partsHS 87US$ 203 mn+114.8%
6PlasticsHS 39US$ 153 mn+21.9%
7Sugar and confectioneryHS 17US$ 142 mn+74.5%
8Electrical and electronicsHS 85US$ 115 mn+11.3%
9Organic chemicalsHS 29US$ 88.8 mn+11.7%
10Paper and paperboardHS 48US$ 85.1 mn-1.3%
11Other chemical productsHS 38US$ 79 mn-1.1%
12AluminiumHS 76US$ 60.3 mn+33.6%

What is rising and what is falling

Chapters where India sells at least US$ 5 million. Change from 2024-25 to 2025-26.

High demand

  1. Vehicles and partsUS$ 94.6 mn → US$ 203 mn+114.8%
  2. Home textiles, made-upsUS$ 27.3 mn → US$ 50.8 mn+86.2%
  3. Cereals (rice, wheat, maize)US$ 162 mn → US$ 299 mn+84.2%
  4. Sugar and confectioneryUS$ 81.6 mn → US$ 142 mn+74.5%
  5. Bakery and cereal foodsUS$ 19.4 mn → US$ 30.4 mn+56.9%
  6. ZincUS$ 15.4 mn → US$ 23 mn+49.9%
  7. MachineryUS$ 309 mn → US$ 444 mn+43.7%
  8. Fuels and petroleum productsUS$ 806 mn → US$ 1.1 bn+36%

Low demand

  1. Iron and steelUS$ 42.7 mn → US$ 38 mn-10.8%

Opportunity: what this country buys from the world, and from India

The country’s own recorded imports in UN Comtrade, 2024. Chapters with the biggest gap between what it buys from the world and what it buys from India.

Fuels and petroleum productsUS$ 4.76 bnIndia 5.3% · gap US$ 4.5 bn
MachineryUS$ 1.59 bnIndia 13.1% · gap US$ 1.38 bn
Vehicles and partsUS$ 1.2 bnIndia 6.7% · gap US$ 1.12 bn
Cereals (rice, wheat, maize)US$ 1.23 bnIndia 13.8% · gap US$ 1.06 bn
Electrical and electronicsUS$ 1.13 bnIndia 6.5% · gap US$ 1.05 bn
Fats and oilsUS$ 979 mnIndia 0.6% · gap US$ 974 mn
PlasticsUS$ 952 mnIndia 10.1% · gap US$ 856 mn
Iron and steelUS$ 782 mnIndia 3.4% · gap US$ 756 mn
Other chemical productsUS$ 507 mnIndia 10% · gap US$ 456 mn
FertilisersUS$ 376 mnIndia 0.3% · gap US$ 375 mn

Our product guides that sell here

India’s exports of each product to this country, 2025-26.

Name2025-26Change
1Generic medicines (formulations)US$ 304 mn-0.9%
2Non-basmati riceUS$ 237 mn+124.6%
3SugarUS$ 117 mn+71.5%
4Motorcycles and scootersUS$ 99.6 mn+223.7%
5Plastic raw materials (polymers)US$ 79.1 mn+43.5%
6Basmati riceUS$ 61.7 mn+9.1%
7Processed foodUS$ 54.6 mn+45.9%
8Vaccines and blood productsUS$ 50.9 mn-30%
9Paper and paperboardUS$ 50.8 mn-4.7%
10Oil meals (soybean, rapeseed, groundnut)US$ 45.4 mn-9.2%
11Agrochemicals (pesticides)US$ 35.3 mn+0.5%
12Dyes and pigmentsUS$ 33.9 mn+17.8%

The 20 biggest export lines

4-digit HS lines, 2025-26, with their Harmonized System descriptions.

Name2025-26Change
1Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crudeHS 2710US$ 1.09 bn+36.6%
2MedicamentsHS 3004US$ 304 mn-0.9%
3RiceHS 1006US$ 298 mn+84.3%
4Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid formHS 1701US$ 117 mn+71.5%
5Motorcycles and cyclesHS 8711US$ 99.6 mn+223.7%
6Human bloodHS 3002US$ 50.9 mn-30%
7Machinery for sorting, screening, separating, washing, crushing, grinding, mixing or kneading earth, stone…HS 8474US$ 45.6 mn+255.7%
8Machinery in this chapter, for the industrial preparation or manufacture of food or drinkHS 8438US$ 45.6 mn-0.1%
9Oil-cake and other solid residuesHS 2304US$ 45.2 mn-9.4%
10Polymers of ethylene, in primary formsHS 3901US$ 39.2 mn+20.6%
11Bulldozers, graders, levellers, scrapers, angledozers, mechanical shovels, excavators, shovel loaders…HS 8429US$ 37.2 mn+100.5%
12Insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products, plant growth regulators…HS 3808US$ 35.3 mn+0.5%
13Uncoated paper and paperboard, used for writing, printing or other graphics, non perforated punch-cards and…HS 4802US$ 35.3 mn-10.6%
14Machinery, plant, or laboratory equipmentHS 8419US$ 32.7 mn+85.4%
15Bread, pastry, cakes, biscuits, other bakers' wares, whether or not containing cocoaHS 1905US$ 29.5 mn+59.1%
16BoilersHS 8402US$ 29.5 mn+179.2%
17Electric transformers, static converters and inductorsHS 8504US$ 28.8 mn-8.4%
18PlasticsHS 3920US$ 28.6 mn+8.5%
19Sodium hydroxideHS 2815US$ 28.4 mn+31%
20AluminiumHS 7601US$ 27.5 mn+73.1%

What India buys from Kenya

India’s imports from this country in 2025-26 by HS chapter, from TradeStat — this country can be your supplier too.

India’s imports, 2025-26
US$ 296 mn
US$ 319 mn → US$ 296 mn
India’s exports, 2025-26
US$ 4.02 bn
Trade balance
+US$ 3.72 bn
exports minus imports
Change in imports
-7.1%
Name2025-26Change
1Coffee, tea, spicesHS 09—+20.1%
2CopperHS 74—-46.3%
3VegetablesHS 07—-62.6%
4Inorganic chemicalsHS 28—+26.2%
5AluminiumHS 76—+58.4%
6Fruit and nutsHS 08—+393.7%
7WoodHS 44—+100%
8Other chemical productsHS 38—+91.6%
9Cocoa and chocolateHS 18——
10Iron and steelHS 72—+6%

The country at a glance

Population
57.5 mn
2025
GDP
US$ 135.9 bn
2025
GDP per person
US$ 2,363
2025
Imports (goods and services)
US$ 29.6 bn
2025

Sources: TradeStat — Export Import Data Bank, Department of Commerce · UN Comtrade database (United Nations Statistics Division) · World Bank — World Development Indicators · Figures taken 29 October 2026.

What to send to Kenya

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