Nairobi, June 7 -- Kenya's goods trade deficit widened at a double-digit rate in the first three months of 2026 on increased imports of industrial materials, food and fuel that outpaced record export earnings, highlighting growing reliance on foreign supplies and increasing pressure on foreign exchange earnings.

A goods trade deficit occurs when a country's total imports of physical products surpass its total exports over a specific period. This means the nation spends more on imported goods than it earns from selling its own products abroad.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that the deficit in merchandise trade grew 17.4 percent to Sh437.03 billion in the January-March period from Sh372.12 billion in the c...