Kenya’s trade with Tanzania has contracted for the first time in nearly a decade, retreating from a record high and raising fresh concerns about slowing momentum between East Africa’s 2 largest economies.
Analysis of official trade numbers shows that total trade between the two neighbours fell by 9.4 percent to Sh114.1 billion in 2025 from an all-time high of Sh125.9 billion in 2024, marking the first decline since 2016.
The drop breaks a sustained growth trend that had seen bilateral trade more than double over the past decade, underlining emerging strains despite renewed diplomatic warmth in recent years.
