Nairobi, Nov 12 (IANS): Kenya's exports to African countries have risen to reach pre-Covid-19 levels, with the pandemic seemingly giving the country's external trade a boost, the central bank said on Wednesday.

Top destination of the country's goods is Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the export data released by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Xinhua reported.

The exports have been on the rise since April, surging to hit 22.5 billion shillings (about 208 million US dollars) in August, a level last seen in February and March.

Uganda is the chief destination of Kenya's exports in Africa, with the country exports standing at a new high of 73.6 million dollars a month, the highest level ever registered between the two countries, according to the apex data.

To Tanzania, exports now average 24.4 million dollars a month, to Rwanda 23.8 million dollars and to DRC 11.1 million dollars, shows CBK data.

Between March and August, the east African nation exported goods worth 1.07 billion dollars to countries in the continent, according to the bank, despite the pandemic, which saw trade stifled in some regions.

Other countries Kenya exports goods to are Ethiopia, Egypt, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In 2019, Kenya's exports to African countries in the first half of the year stood at 1.02 billion dollars, an indication that the country's trade to the region remains steady in 2020 despite the pandemic.