UAE has become Kenya’s second largest export market of jet fuel, after moving ahead of the US, Pakistan, Netherlands, Tanzania and the UK, underlining Nairobi’s growing status as a regional aviation hub.
According to AGBI, the Emirates are second, behind Uganda, after exports from the Gulf state more than doubled, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said in its latest report.
However, the majority of the increase “was primarily driven by increased re-exports of kerosene-type jet fuel,” attributed to increased fuelling of UAE-owned aircraft in Kenya, authorities told Business Daily Africa. The Kenya Revenue Authority, which provides data to KNBS, records fuel as an export when foreign airlines refuel planes at Kenyan airports.
Flydubai launched four return flights a week to Mombasa in January last year. Emirates Airline flies double daily flights from Dubai to Nairobi, Air Arabia operates flights from Sharjah to Nairobi and Etihad Airways resumed its operations to the Kenyan capital in December. Exports more than doubled in the nine months to September 2024, to reach KSh87 billion ($671 million), up from KSh39.7 billion in the same period in 2023. The 119 percent increase in exports was also attributed to higher sales of goat meat and fermented black tea.
The UAE and Kenya completed negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) in February last year. Non-oil trade between the UAE and Kenya reached just over $3 billion in 2023, up 26 percent year on year. The two sides hope the agreement will help accelerate investment into areas including logistics, healthcare, travel and tourism, infrastructure and information and communication technology. The UAE is one of the most visited countries by President William Ruto since he took office in September 2022.