Kenya Textile And Clothing Industry Has Difficulty In Finding Innovation

2008/11/7 9:08:00 28

In recent years, after the cancellation of WTO's multi fibre agreement (MFA), the textile factories in Kenya went bankrupt one after another, and many workers lost their jobs.

Mr.C.SNarain, executive director of global apparel management, said 28 of 50 garment companies were forced to close.

At present, 22 companies have not yet gone bankrupt, but only 12 of them continue to operate.

He said that since the abolition of the multi fiber agreement in January 2005, the textile and garment industry has already cut 500 thousand workers, and now there are only 10000-12000 people left.

On Wednesday, the Kenya professional association held a luncheon for its members, and the trade analyst of the US International Trade Commission attended the luncheon.

The purpose of the conference is to give analysts an opportunity to learn more about the difficulties faced by Kenya in making better use of the African Growth Opportunity Act.

Marain urges the government to support the garment industry.

He said that the government must care about the survival of the garment industry, must talk with exporters, understand their difficulties and help them solve problems as far as possible.

He said the government should work out a system to help textile companies not be affected by the appreciation of foreign currencies.

BarryFisher, managing director of the African cotton and textile industry alliance (ACTIF), stressed that innovative ways to trade in Africa must be sought.

AlanTreat, an analyst with the US International Trade Commission, said the US is willing to foster relations with Kenya in terms of trade.

The United States is trying to understand what difficulties Kenya enterprises have in terms of competition.