For the first half of the year American imports of women’s trousers and shorts from Kenya rose 23.5 per cent. Women’s trousers accounted for nearly a third of the value of clothes imported by the US from Kenya, having grown by 12.6 per cent. However, shows that imports of women’s skirts from Kenya dropped 43 per cent. Imports of women’s blouses also dropped four per cent.

Imports of men’s trousers and shorts in the first half of the year grew 16.6 per cent. Exports of women’s trousers from Kenya to the US have grown 44 per cent over the past three years. Kenya is among the sub-Saharan African countries which can export goods to the US tax-free. It is looking to further improve exports to the US.

Textiles and apparel account for over 80 per cent of Kenya’s total exports to the US. An export processing zone is coming up in Kenya. This is expected to revamp the industry which was a key forex exchange earner and job creator in the 1980s before market liberalisation in 1991 opened the floodgates to cheaper imported secondhand clothes. Investors will enjoy a 10-year corporate and withholding tax holiday, value added tax and stamp duty exemptions and utility connections.