Kenya has raised concerns over the drastic decline in its regional trade market share that is threatening to wipe away the economic gains.
According to the Industries, Trade and Cooperatives Ministry, the country is beginning to lose a grip on her peers as opposed to the previous years where the state enjoyed dominance as the region's economic powerhouse.
The trade has been affected by the decline in the manufacturing sector’s output as industries struggle to cope in a tougher business environment that is characterised by closure of some businesses and massive layoffs.
Manufacturers are also grappling with a high cost of energy stuck at Sh11 per kilowatt hour contrasted to Ethiopia's four cents per kilowart hour.
East African Affairs Principal Secretary Betty Maina has said that this was an indication that Kenya needs to work on improving the quality and competitiveness of local goods to regain the region's market access.
“This has been gradually taking a turn with most of the countries in the region that once relied on our products and commodity resorting to other markets that they have identified cheaper and of better quality,” Maina said in an interview.
Another major concern was threats from contraband trade for manufacturers and according to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Kenya's local industries are steadily losing at least 40% of their market share to the counterfeiters.
According to latest data, China and India control a major portion of imports to Kenya while exports to Uganda went down by 30 per cent (down to Sh15.8 billion) as those to Tanzania remained at Sh7 billion.