(NAIROBI, KENYA) – Four countries supplied 55.1% of Kenya’s imports in the first half of 2026, exposing the country’s supply chain to disruption on key trade routes as the Middle East crisis escalates.
China, India, Saudi Arabia and the UAE accounted for KES 898.8 billion ($6.9 billion / GBP 5.2 billion) of Kenya’s import bill, according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data.
The import bill grew 21.9% to KES 1.63 trillion ($12.6 billion / GBP 9.5 billion) in the six months to June 2026.
Non food industrial supplies, fuel and lubricants, sourced mainly from the Middle East and other Asian nations, accounted for 59% of the import bill.
China, a key supplier of electronics and household goods, posted 37.2% growth in exports to Kenya.
India, which largely exports pharmaceuticals and mineral fuels, held second place with goods worth KES 215.16 billion ($1.7 billion / GBP 1.3 billion), up from KES 139.68 billion ($1.1 billion / GBP 810 million) in 2025.
Imports from Saudi Arabia surged 484.4% to KES 149.8 billion ($1.2 billion / GBP 870 million), lifting the kingdom from sixth position in 2025 to third this year.
Imports from the UAE fell 35.1% to KES 115.9 billion ($894 million / GBP 678 million), pushing the Gulf state from Kenya’s second largest supplier to fourth.
The reversal followed the outbreak of the Middle East conflict and disruption around the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest developments in the Middle East expose the risks of relying on the region for essential imports.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global crude oil and LNG supplies normally pass, has seen shipping traffic collapse as the war intensifies.
Reuters reported last week that only seven vessels transited the waterway on Thursday, well below the 10 day average of 15.
Saudi Arabia’s alternative route has also come under pressure after the kingdom temporarily shut its East-West oil pipeline following a drone attack that caused structural damage.
The pipeline, which stretches about 1,200 kilometres across Saudi Arabia, had been transporting an estimated 4 million to 5 million barrels of oil a day, offering a route to move Saudi crude towards the Red Sea without using Hormuz.
The development matters for Kenya because the country imports nearly all its petroleum products from the Middle East under government to government arrangements with Gulf suppliers including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Reuters reported in April that the Middle East conflict had already pushed Kenya to raise petrol prices by 16.1% and diesel by 24.2% as the cost of imported petroleum products jumped.
The latest trade figures suggest Kenya’s challenge is not that it trades too much with China, India or the Gulf.
It is that too much of its essential imports are concentrated in external markets and supply routes exposed to geopolitical shocks.