The number of passengers travelling using the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has dropped in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
KNBS, in its Quarterly Gross Domestic Product- First Quarter 2025 report, said that the number of passengers declined from 531,700 in the first quarter of 2024 to 529,600 in the first quarter of 2025, representing a 10.3 per cent drop.
The drop is attributed to several factors, including a 50 per cent fare hike introduced at the start of 2024.
KNBS had also reported that the number of passengers in 2024 dropped by 282,000 compared to 2023.
In 2024, 2,447,000 passengers used the SGR, a drop from the 2,729,000 who used the service in the previous year.
Quarterly Gross Domestic Product- First Quarter 2025 report on SGR
Despite the drop in the number of passengers using SGR in 2025, the volume of cargo transported rose by 39.7 per cent from 1,303,300 metric tonnes in quarter one of 2024 to 1,820,600 tonnes in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Consequently, revenue from the cargo stream rose by 17.7 per cent to Ksh3,819,000,000 in the first quarter of 2025.
KNBS said that the transportation and storage sector’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to have expanded by 3.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 4.1 per cent growth in the corresponding quarter of 2024.
“The sector’s growth was buoyed by land transportation and port activities. The consumption of light diesel, which is a key input in transportation activities increased to 561.4 thousand metric tonnes in the first quarter of 2025 from 547.6 thousand metric tonnes in a similar quarter of 2024,” read part of the report.
“Mombasa Port handled 10,610 thousand metric tonnes in the quarter under review compared to 9,422 thousand tons registered in the first quarter of 2024; partly driven by significant increase in dry bulk cargo handled at the port.”
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Manufacturing sector
KNBS also said that the manufacturing sector’s Gross Value Added (GVA) grew by 2.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 1.9 per cent growth in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
In the food manufacturing sub-sector, the growth was supported by enhanced performance of coffee auctions, milk deliveries to processors, production of sugar and soft drinks.
The volume of coffee auctioned rose by 39.3 per cent from 14,447 metric tonnes in the first quarter of 2024 to 20,122 metric tonnes in the first quarter of 2025.
Milk deliveries to processors increased to 250,600,000 litres in the first quarter of 2025 from 218,800,000 million litres in the first quarter of 2024.
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Production of sugar grew by 11.9 per cent to stand at 216,000 metric tonnes in the first quarter of 2025.
Similarly, production of soft drinks increased from 147,100,000 litres in the first quarter of 2024 to 162,900,000 litres in the first quarter of 2025.
The non-food manufacturing subsector supported the overall growth in the manufacturing sector with production of cement, assembled motor vehicles and galvanised sheets recording significant growths.
In the first quarter of 2025, cement production increased by 13.9 per cent to stand at 2,386,900 thousand metric tonnes.
Similarly, production of galvanised sheets grew by 11.3 per cent to stand at 76,167 metric tonnes in the first quarter of 2025.
Credit advanced to enterprises in the manufacturing sector declined from Ksh598.6 billion as at March 2024 to Ksh566.2 billion as at March 2025.
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