Kenya to boost textile production with more domestic sales

Kenya is putting in place policy reforms to boost local textile production, including by encouraging domestic sales, a senior official said Friday.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Adan Mohamed told a media briefing that the measures include allowing textile firms in the Export Promotion Zones to sell up to 20 percent of their produce locally without paying duties.

"This will allow textile firms to take advantage of growing demand for apparel products by the growing middle class and hence boost the sector," Mohamed said.

"We want to make sure our citizens have access to the high quality export products that are sold to overseas market," he said during the launch of the Progress Report on Textile and Apparel Industry.

According to the report, Kenya's textile and apparel exports had grown to 415 million U.S. dollars by the end of 2016, accounting for 30 percent of industrial exports over the past five years.

The East African nation however is major importer of second-hand clothes despite its vibrant textile sector. The minister noted that increased local production will make consumers switch from purchasing second-hand clothes.

Mohamed said the government is targeting labor-intensive low-tech industries such as textile as part of the realization of the industrialization agenda that will transform Kenya into a newly-industrializing, middle-income country. Endit