Thinking about agricultural trade between South Africa and Kenya

There is room to expand agricultural trade between South Africa and Kenya, especially in grains. Kenya isn’t yet a bigger agricultural export market for South Africa.

Kenya accounted for 1% of South Africa’s US$15.1 billion in agricultural exports in 2025. This was about US$141 million of agricultural exports, mainly vegetable oils, fruits, nuts, beverages, sugar, and live animals, amongst other products.

But Kenya is a major buyer of agricultural products from the world market. In 2025, Kenya spent US$3.7 billion importing agricultural products. Vegetable oils and grains accounted for a greater share of these imports.

The mediocre agricultural trade figures between Kenya and South Africa, amongst other things, are caused by the non-tariff barriers. Consider maize, Kenya is a major importer of maize and has struggled to source supplies in recent years when confronted by drought.

South Africa is a major maize exporter, but has not been a key supplier to Kenya due to restrictions on the import of genetically engineered maize. Kenya still prohibits the import of GMO maize. This is a challenge because South Africa mainly produces GMO maize, accounting for roughly 80% of our production.

Over time, we have enjoyed the yield gains of GMO maize, placing us in a position where, in the 2025-26 season, South Africa is set to have 17.1 million tonnes of maize. South Africa’s annual maize consumption is 12.0 million tonnes. Without the current restrictions, Kenya would be among South Africa’s key export markets.

So, the removal of non-tariff barriers, such as those we encounter in maize trade, would deepen agricultural trade between South Africa and Kenya. Of course, Kenya can also look at what it can export to South Africa in agriculture.

We sometimes forget that South Africa still spends around US$7 billion a year on imports of wheat, rice, palm oil, poultry, and whiskies, among other products.

Therefore, countries can still export some of these products to South Africa, as well as other fruits. We encourage trade; we aren’t only just pushing exports.

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