Kenya's manufacturing sector grows 3.5 pct in 2015

Kenya's manufacturing sector expanded by 3.5 percent in 2015, up from 3.2 percent the previous year, official figures show.

According to Kenya's 2016 Economic Survey released on Tuesday, the growth was mainly fueled by reduced cost of inputs, such as petroleum products and electricity.

The report says that the macroeconomic environment in 2015 was favorable for the performance of the manufacturing sector.

"All the key sectors that heavily influence the performance of the sector such as agriculture and electricity posted impressive performance," says the report.

The credit to the manufacturing industry increased from 2.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 to 2.9 billion dollars in 2015.

Yet the report lamented the curtailed availability of cheap credit to fund the sector.

The manufacturing of food products all expanded in 2015 except the processing and preservation of fish, which registered a decline of 21.8 percent.

The manufacturing of beverages expanded by 22 percent in 2015. The growth of beer production was attributed to a 90 percent reduction of excise duty for beer made from locally grown sorghum, millet and cassava.

In order to boost the sector, the government is mulling the creation of Special Economic Zones and the reform of laws to increase penalties on counterfeit products to protect local industries. Endit