Lessons from India for the Kenyan textile industry

 By Pauline Muindi

Mitumba traders and customers

 In Kenya, just like in most of Africa and other third world countries in the world, the second-hand clothes market is a billion dollar industry. The second-hand clothes are mostly charity donations from the more developed countries, especially America. In Kenya, the second hand clothes are known as mitumba, a name derived from the bundles or bales in which the clothes are packaged.

From the time the 100-pound bales land in the port of Mombasa to the time they reach you at your local mitumba shop, they have provided employment for a great number of Kenyans who would have otherwise been jobless. At this stage the donated clothes have benefitted the importers, the truck drivers who transport the clothes from Mombasa to Nairobi, the tailors who reclaim and re-fashion garments within the market and market traders themselves. But the stream of income goes on to encompass the hawkers and your local mitumba seller.

Described in this light, the mitumba industry sounds like a really lucrative one. This a suggestion reinforced by the most recent country census, which suggests that the mitumba trade supports some ten million Kenyans both directly and indirectly. This is particularly remarkable in a country where the unemployment rate stands at 40 percent.

However, economic analysts say that the mitumba trade is actually responsible for the collapse of the textile industry in Kenya. Kenya had a relatively thriving textile industry in the 1970s which started to decline with the introduction of the mitumba clothes into the Kenyan market in the late 1970s.

The Kenyan government is yet to introduce stringent measures to control the mitumba trade although recently, the textile industry has shown some signs of improving. In this sector, Kenya stands to learn a few tricks from the booming Indian textile industry which has not been infiltrated by second hand clothing.

In India the textile industry is rated as the second largest after agriculture. The textile industry forms 14 percent of the total industrial output. Indian fabric is in great demand in foreign shores owing to its ethnicity, rich textures, handwork and earthly colours. The international recognition that Indian fashion designers have received further showcases Indian fabrics in the greater market.

The employment opportunity created by the textile industry is also large, generating up to 12 million jobs covering both agricultural as well as industrial sectors. From cultivation of cotton and the collection of silk worms up to the production of cloth and the designing and stitching of garments, a huge workforce is required.

The textile industry is comprised of various segments, namely, readymade garments, cotton textiles including handlooms, man-made textiles, silk textiles, woolen textiles, carpets and other handicrafts, coir and jute.

The Kenyan government has for a long time been sitting on the fence as regards the mitumba industry. Although the curbing of mitumba trade could result into minor conflicts, the government should only focus on the big picture so as to achieve the Vision 2030.

Pauline Muindi( http://www.polkat2010.blogspot.com/ )