Kenya exports to Uganda in 2026: the KNBS figures

Updated 12 November 2026

In July 2026, Kenya exports to Uganda were the largest among the destinations listed in the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ (KNBS) Leading Economic Indicators, at KSh 12.6 billion. That was just ahead of the United States, at KSh 12.4 billion, and the United Arab Emirates, at KSh 8.8 billion. The figures are provisional, they come from the Kenya Revenue Authority via KNBS, and they cover domestic exports only. They exclude electricity and informal cross-border trade.

All values below are taken from the KNBS Leading Economic Indicators for July 2026, downloaded from the official KNBS repository on 12 November 2026. The 2026 rows are marked provisional. When a later monthly release is published, use that file rather than this article for the newest month. This is not a forecast, and it is not a complete picture of Kenya–Uganda trade, because the same bulletin does not give a matching official figure for Kenya’s imports from Uganda.

What the July 2026 figures show for Kenya exports to Uganda

Table 13(a) of the July bulletin, “Major Destinations of Domestic Exports”, lists Uganda first in July 2026, at KSh 12,624.36 million, which is the KSh 12.6 billion in the KNBS commentary. A year earlier, in July 2025, the same table shows KSh 10,499.49 million. That is an increase of about 20% in that single month, comparing the two July rows. The June 2026 figure was KSh 12,121.64 million, so July was a modest rise on the previous month rather than a sudden jump.

KNBS’s narrative in the same bulletin says Uganda, the USA and the UAE were Kenya’s leading export destinations in July 2026. The table matches that order. The UAE line is the one that moved most sharply: it more than doubled, from KSh 4,056.68 million in June to KSh 8,819.82 million in July, which is why it appears in the same sentence as Uganda even though it remained third.

Kenya exports to Uganda in 2026, month by month

Kenya exports to Uganda have not risen in a straight line. The same official table shows a weak February, at KSh 6,571.24 million, then a March peak of KSh 13,648.52 million, the highest month in the 2026 rows. April through July stayed in a narrower band, between KSh 10.4 billion and KSh 12.6 billion.

Adding the seven monthly figures for January to July gives KSh 76,679.96 million, or about KSh 76.68 billion, in 2026, against KSh 73,947.42 million, or about KSh 73.95 billion, in the same months of 2025. That running total is our arithmetic from Table 13(a), not a separate KNBS cumulative line. A later revision of any month would change the sum.

The same July 2026 row also lists Tanzania at KSh 4,734.32 million and Rwanda at KSh 4,497.16 million. Those are useful regional comparisons, but they are not a substitute for the Uganda series above.

How this compares with total exports

Table 12 of the same bulletin puts Kenya’s total exports in July 2026 at KSh 128,771.05 million, of which domestic exports were KSh 107,050.58 million and re-exports KSh 21,720.46 million. Uganda’s KSh 12,624.36 million is 11.8% of that July domestic-export total, again by arithmetic from the two official rows. It is not a share that KNBS prints in the commentary.

For context on Kenya exports to Uganda, not as a substitute for a Uganda product list, Table 13(b) gives the composition of Kenya’s domestic exports to all destinations in July 2026: food and beverages 41.5%, non-food industrial supplies 26.8%, consumer goods not elsewhere specified 20.1%, and machinery and other capital equipment 9.0%. Those percentages are national, not the mix of Kenya exports to Uganda, which this bulletin does not break down.

What these tables do not tell you

The July Leading Economic Indicators do not include Uganda in Table 14(a), the list of major origins of Kenya’s imports. Without an official monthly import figure for Uganda in this release, this guide cannot state a bilateral trade balance, and it cannot say what Kenya bought from Uganda in July. Informal cross-border trade, which matters on this frontier, is excluded by the table footnote, as is electricity.

The 2026 figures are starred as provisional. KNBS may revise them in later editions. If you need the next month, look first for a later Leading Economic Indicators release in the KNBS repository. On 12 November 2026, the July 2026 bulletin was the latest LEI edition we found there.

How the goods usually move

Official merchandise recorded in these tables still has to pass through ports, inland depots or land borders. Containers that leave or enter through Mombasa can be checked on the official shipping reports explained in our Mombasa port vessel schedule guide. Boxes railed inland to Nairobi or Naivasha face the depot charges in the Kenya Ports Authority tariff, and a licensed agent usually handles the customs file, as described in how clearing agents charge at Mombasa port.

Rail freight to the Naivasha inland depot, which connects to the metre-gauge line toward Malaba and Uganda, is a separate Kenya Railways bill. Those rates are on our SGR cargo rates page. None of those logistics charges is included in the KNBS export values, which are customs merchandise figures, not a landed-cost account.

Frequently asked questions

How much were Kenya exports to Uganda in July 2026?

KNBS records KSh 12,624.36 million of domestic exports to Uganda in July 2026, or KSh 12.6 billion in the bureau’s own commentary. The figure is provisional and excludes electricity and informal cross-border trade.

Was Uganda Kenya’s largest export market that month?

Yes, among the destinations listed in Table 13(a). The United States was second, at KSh 12,425.38 million, and the UAE was third, at KSh 8,819.82 million.

Can I use these figures to calculate the Kenya–Uganda trade balance?

Not from this bulletin alone. Table 14(a) on major import origins does not list Uganda, and informal trade is excluded. A balance would need an official import series for Uganda that this release does not provide.

Are the 2026 numbers on Kenya exports to Uganda final?

No. KNBS marks the 2026 rows as provisional. Use a later Leading Economic Indicators release if KNBS has published one after July 2026.