Nairobi, May 5 -- Kenya's trade with Tanzania has contracted for the first time in nearly a decade, retreating from a record high and raising fresh concerns about slowing momentum between East Africa's two largest economies.

Analysis of official trade data shows that total trade between the two neighbours fell by 9.4 percent to Sh114.1 billion in 2025 from an all-time high of Sh125.9 billion in 2024, marking the first decline since 2016.

The drop breaks a sustained growth trend that had seen bilateral trade more than double over the past decade, underlining emerging strains despite renewed diplomatic warmth in recent years.

The disclosures in the 2026 Economic Survey come ahead of President William Ruto's expected address to Tanzania's...