International Trade Promotion Practices Adopted by Export Promotion Council, Kenya.

Abstract

The objective of the study is to determine the influence of export promotion council on international trade of services in Kenya. This study will be anchored two theories of international trade namely: Mercantilism, and theory of Comparative advantage. Mercantilism theory states that trade develops wealth, which is stimulated by positive balance of payments. The theory is key as nations are currently reverting to it by promoting exports through imposing restrictions on imports. (Protectionism.) In the absence of developed theories to explain international trade in both goods and services, then comparative advantage theory by David Ricardo can apply. A country will export more, a product that makes use of intensive factors of production it is endowed with in plenty. This research was premised on a case study of Export Promotion Council. The target population was the heads of business units at theExport Promotion Council. They includeded head of: Export marketing, Small and Medium Enterprise, Research and Development, Finance and Trade Manager and the Information Technology Manager. Data analysis was done through content analysis to evaluate the collected data. Content analysis makes compelling inferences by interpreting and electronically coding textual material. Through systematically assessing complex texts on documents and verbal communication, qualitative data can be turned into quantitative data. Based on the data collected, from all the five senior managers projected the response rate was 100%. The research findings as discussed above support various literature on the role of export promotion agencies in helping firms looking to export and grow trade. A positive relationship between using export promotion council practices and export performance. The study recommends that the government should see to the end the successful merger of Export Promotion Council and Brand Kenya Board to form Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency. The new body should be sufficiently resourced to deliver on its core mandate of promoting international trade for Kenyan exports and thus putting Kenya on the path of national economic growth target set under Kenya Vision 2030.