Kenya’s Trade Gap Widens as Exports Decline, Import Bill Rises

The trade deficit in Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, widened in July as imports surged and shipments of tea, the country’s biggest export, declined.

The gap grew to 80.5 billion shillings ($948.2 million) from 58.2 billion shillings a year earlier, the Nairobi-based Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in a report on its website, the capital. Exports declined 4 percent to 42.9 billion shillings, while imports jumped 20 percent to 123.4 billion shillings.