Due to the COVID supply chain disruptions occurred in the latest 2 years, African traders have experienced a true tragedy in their sourcing and distribution activities, with historic port bottlenecks aggravated by a surge in container freight rates (a phenomenon that has invested the entire world), making shipping operations extremely difficult and costly. In a period of strong congestion of African ports, West African countries are showing an interest in decongesting seaports through the development of dry ports located in strategic location inside their territories.

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Despite the pandemics, in 2020, Kenyan exports managed to register a 3.3% growth to $6 billion, driven by continued world demand of Kenyan tea, coffee, fruits and vegetables, and a quick rebound in demand for garments. The good level of diversification of Kenyan exports and of their destination markets is one of main assets and a resilience factor of the East African country, that during the past two decades has witnessed a continuous growth of its imports and exports (except in periods of external shocks). Nonetheless, the contribution of exports of goods and services to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has gradually decreased, from 23.6% in 2011 to 10% in 2020, suggesting that Kenya’s exports need to be further expanded in order to further diversify its economy and sustain its development plans.

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