Kenya’s expenditure on rice imports exceeded wheat for the first time in 2025 after the government opened a controversial duty-free import window to avert shortages, underscoring the country’s growing reliance on foreign supplies to meet rising demand.
The latest Economic Survey shows that Kenya’s rice import bill stood at Sh55.11 billion in 2025, overtaking the Sh41.73 billion spent on unmilled wheat and marking a historic reversal in the country’s cereal import profile.
The crossover in import spending was driven largely by a drop in wheat import costs following a decline in global prices. Kenya’s wheat import bill fell by 51.3 percent from Sh85.73 billion in 2024 despite volumes dipping only marginally by 3.4 percent to 2.24 million tonnes.
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