• Trade deficit down to $758.9 mln in Q2 2025 from $867.3 mln a year earlier.
• Exports dropped 35.6%, while imports declined 20.5% year-on-year.
• Rwanda’s total trade volume fell 23.6% to $1.7 bln in the quarter.

Rwanda’s trade deficit fell by 12.5% in the second quarter of 2025, reaching $758.94 million compared with $867.33 million in the same period of 2024, according to a foreign trade report released by the National Institute of Statistics (NISR) on September 16.

Exports declined 35.64% year-on-year in Q2 2025. Food products, live animals, non-edible raw materials, and various other items made up the bulk of outbound trade. The United Arab Emirates, the Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Belgium, and Luxembourg were Rwanda’s main export markets.

Imports also dropped by 20.5%, from $1.5 billion in Q2 2024 to $1.2 billion in Q2 2025. The main imported goods were machinery and transport equipment, food products and live animals, manufactured goods by material, and mineral fuels and lubricants. Key suppliers included China, Tanzania, India, Kenya, and the United Arab Emirates.

In terms of regional trade, Rwanda recorded $342 million in commerce with East African Community (EAC) countries, $424.22 million with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and $10.71 million with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Overall, Rwanda’s total trade volume in Q2 2025 stood at about $1.7 billion, down 23.55% compared with the same quarter in 2024.