Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi

East Africa shows in her overseas trade the typical features of a less developed country: a growing trade deficit, the export of mainly agricultural commodities and the import of raw materials and capital goods. The paper analyses first the pattern of exports since 1964 and its geographical distribution. Despite efforts to diversify trade, Kenya in 1971 still relied largely on two agricultural crops for her exports earnings. The import pattern emerging since 1964 shows a healthy trend away from consumer goods by increasing the share of imported capital goods including transport equipment. Despite growing levels of income, the share of consumer goods remained constant since 1964, an indication of import substitution in this field.