Kenya’s textile production for the local market is dead courtesy of flooding of the market with mitumba and cheap new clothes.
The paradox is that Kenya is one of the largest textile and apparel exporters under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, with earnings to the tune of Sh51 billion annually.
The country had a thriving textile industry in the 80s and early 90s which saw operations at Kicomi in Kisumu, Rivatex and Raymonds in Eldoret, Mountex in Nanyuki and KTM in Thika.
There were about 52 textile mills at its peak in 1984, and half a million garment workers.
Sadly this is now down to only four key large mills and 54,000 employees in the entire value chain, according to official data.
The death of the industry led to the collapse of Kenya’s thriving cotton farming and with it loss of income to thousands.
To revive the industry, the government must regulate the entry of mitumba and cheap new cloth imports. The government is banking on the National Cotton Textile and Apparel Policy to revive the local textile industry.
To start with, the government must boost the few textile companies through tax incentives to make their products competitive.
It is encouraging that Kenya has already adopted the commercialisation of Bt cotton to boost production.
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Quote of the day:
“You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them.” —American entrepreneur Malcolm Forbes died on February 24, 1990
