Kenya overtakes Nigeria as Africa’s largest importer of second-hand clothes

Kenya has emerged as the largest importer of second-hand clothes in Africa, surpassing Nigeria.

According to the latest trade data compiled by the United States-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Kenya imported second-hand clothes and textiles worth Sh38.5 billion ($298 million) in 2023.

Diaspora Digital Media findings indicate that it represents a 12.45% increase from Sh34.28 billion ($265 million) in 2022.

The imports have continued to flood the Kenyan market, meeting the growing demand for affordable clothing.

Kenyan mitumba traders import various categories of second-hand clothes, including underwear, dresses, shirts, trousers, jackets, and shoes.

Other used textiles such as bedding, towels, curtains, fabric scraps, and industrial rags also enter the country.

An analysis of MIT’s Observatory of Economic Complexity indicates that in 2022, Kenya’s imports of second-hand clothes and textiles were nearly equal to Nigeria’s at Sh34.5 billion ($265 million), with South Africa ranking third at Sh33.76 billion ($261 million).

The demand for mitumba in Kenya is expected to rise further after Parliament removed two key taxes—the Import Declaration Fees (IDF) and the Railway Development Levy (RDL)—through the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024.

Successive governments have attempted to revive the textile sector.

The Kenya Kwanza administration is implementing a value chain approach under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, while the previous Jubilee government attempted a similar strategy through the Big Four Agenda.

The draft National Cotton, Textile, and Apparel (CTA) Policy 2024 has been developed to guide the growth of Kenya’s cotton value chain.

Attempts to restrict mitumba imports have sparked debates among Kenyan policymakers and economists, particularly since the country abandoned its import substitution programme in the early 1990s.

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