What made up the rise in Mombasa’s port cargo in 2025?

Imports accounted for most of the recorded increase

Total import tonnage rose by 6.026 million tonnes from 2024 to 2025. Dry general cargo rose by 2.349 million tonnes, dry bulk by 2.058 million and bulk liquids by 1.619 million. The three increases sum to the recorded import gain. Source 1

Exports and trans-shipment went different ways

Export tonnage rose from 4.959 million tonnes in 2024 to 5.069 million in 2025. Trans-shipment fell from 5.832 million to 4.196 million tonnes. The grand total includes imports, exports, trans-shipment and restows, so it can grow more slowly than imports alone. Source 1

Container traffic and ship docking count different activity

The 2025 table recorded 2,114,480 twenty-foot equivalent units and 1,955 ship dockings. The 2024 counts were 2,004,683 and 1,873. A container unit standardizes box capacity and cannot be added to cargo tonnes. A ship docking is a call, without a fixed cargo load. Source 1 Source 2

Different cargo types use different port facilities

The Kenya Ports Authority describes container terminals alongside specialized liquid bulk berths and oil pipelines. The survey shows the handling mix but does not allocate cargo by terminal or berth. The statistics also do not measure waiting times or utilization at an individual terminal. Source 1 Source 3

Sources

• Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and Kenya Ports Authority, 2026 Economic Survey, table 13.8
• Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, official 2026 Economic Survey repository
• Kenya Ports Authority, Port of Mombasa terminals and cargo facilities