The volume of Kenyan apparels shipped to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act declined by 12.1 per cent last year. The AGOA allows US buyers to import goods from sub-Saharan Africa without paying duties or facing quota restrictions. But whether AGOA will continue to be favored by the US remains uncertain.

The US is Kenya’s largest apparel export destination. Textiles and apparel account for about 80 per cent of Kenya’s total exports to the US under the pact. Direct employment generated by AGOA increased by 2.5 per cent in 2016 while the number of enterprises operating at the export processing zones in Kenya increased to 91 from the 89 recorded in 2015. Total sales by the enterprises in the 65 export processing zones increased by 5.8 per cent in 2016 compared to the year before.

Exports from the export processing zones increased 3.7 per cent, accounting for 91.9 per cent of total sales. With the country becoming more visible on the global map, local traders are increasingly opening more supply channels to the US, helped by increased interactions with American investors. Kenya is looking to expand the list of products it exports.