NAIROBI, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The value of Kenyan's imports declined by 3.9 percent on a yearly basis to stand at 421.2 billion Kenyan shillings (4.21 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2019, latest data showed.
Total exports declined by 3.0 percent to 156.9 billion Kenyan shillings.
These resulted in a trade deficit of 264.3 billion Kenyan shillings during the quarter ending March, compared with 276.8 billion Kenyan shillings in the first quarter of 2018, according to the data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on Monday.
The decline in imports was mainly a result of decrease in imports of industrial machinery and petroleum products, said KNBS.
The data also showed that Kenya's current account deficit improved by 32.7 percent year-on-year to 78.8 billion Kenyan shillings in the first quarter. The narrowing of the current account deficit was supported by an increase in net service inflows and a decrease in merchandise trade deficit, according to KNBS in a statement.
KNBS said that Kenya's inflows in international trade in services grew up by 14.3 percent to 149.5 billion Kenyan shillings while outflows reduced by 10.1 percent to 88.8 billion Kenyan shillings.
