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The gridlock at the Kenyan Malaba border with Uganda, where nearly all Rwanda’s import and exports via Mombasa port, transit.
Rwanda’s exports to its East African neighbors surged to record levels in the final quarter of 2025, nearly doubling compared to the same period a year earlier, underscoring a deepening shift toward regional trade.
Although the East African Community formally includes the Democratic Republic of Congo, the trade figures in this report treat the DRC separately from EAC totals.
This is largely because the DRC accounts for an outsized share of Rwanda’s exports and would significantly distort regional comparisons if included.
As a result, the reported growth in exports to the EAC reflects trade with countries such as Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, and South Sudan, providing a clearer picture of underlying regional trade trends without the dominant weight of the Congolese market.
According to the latest trade data from the NationalInstituteofStatistics (NISR), exports to the East African Community bloc rose to approximately $54.6 million in Q4 2025, up from about $27.8 million in Q4 2024, representing a 96.43 percent increase.
The growth was driven largely by increased shipments to neighboring countries including Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania, as cross-border trade flows intensified.
This marks the highest level of exports to the EAC ever recorded, highlighting the bloc’s growing importance as a destination for Rwandan goods at a time when global export markets remain volatile.
Rwanda’s exports to EAC region are dominated by food products and light manufactured goods tailored to regional demand. These range from beans, maize, vegetables, and fruits to cement, steel, plastics, and other construction materials.
The country also supplies soaps, detergents, beverages, and basic household items. Unlike exports to global markets, which are driven by minerals, coffee, and tea, trade within the EAC is shaped by proximity and daily consumption needs, making it more consistent, volume-driven, and central to cross-border supply chains.
The surge comes amid a broader restructuring of Rwanda’s trade patterns, with regional markets gaining weight even as exports to some traditional partners declined sharply.
Economists attribute the growth to improved transport and logistics networks, stronger regional demand for agricultural and manufactured goods, and ongoing efforts to promote intra-African trade under regional integration frameworks.
The trend also aligns with Rwanda’s strategy of positioning itself as a regional trade and logistics hub, supported by rising re-export activity and increased commercial linkages with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, analysts caution that while the expansion presents new opportunities, it also increases exposure to regional market risks, including policy shifts and economic instability among neighboring countries.
Even so, the record-breaking performance underscores the growing centrality of the EAC in Rwanda’s trade outlook and signals a continued pivot toward intra-African commerce as a driver of export growth.
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