Nairobi, Sept. 1 -- Kenya's food import bill has climbed to near-record levels amid widespread crop failure due to drought, signalling deeper reliance on markets abroad for supplies to feed households.

The value of food and beverage imports rose by 20.6 percent to Sh169.02 billion in the January-June period. This is Sh28.88 billion higher than Sh140.14 billion in the same period last year, the latest provisional official data show.

The latest bill is Sh4.25 billion below the Sh173.28 billion recorded in the first half of 2023, when Kenya encountered one of its worst droughts in decades.

The rebound reverses two consecutive years of declines, with food imports falling 14.5 percent in 2024 to Sh148.18 billion and a further 5.4 percent to...