Kenya takes initiatives to revive domestic textile industry

17 May '23

1 min read

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Insights

As part of steps to boost the Kenyan cotton industry, farmers there will receive free chemicals and training to ensure maximum yield and the government is likely to provide enough raw materials for the textile industry.
The department for industrialisation, the agriculture ministry and the Rift Valley Textile East Africa Ltd. will collaborate on the project.

Kenya recently said farmers will receive free chemicals and training to ensure maximum yield and the government is expected to provide enough raw materials for the textile industry.

The state department for industrialisation, the ministry of agriculture and the Rift Valley Textile East Africa Ltd (RIVATEX) will collaborate on the project.

The step is expected to boost the domestic cotton industry.

The government has injected Sh7 billion to modernise the Rift Valley Textile mills (Rivatex) and revived the Luanda ginnery in Busia, but the facilities are operating below their capacities due to the collapsed cotton value chain.

Agriculture and food authority acting director general Beatrice Nyamwanu said the renewed focus to rejuvenate the sector would scale up cotton production, which is presently 3,000 metric tonnes, according to Kenyan media reports.

Kenya produces 28,000 bales of cotton annually now against a requirement of 140,000 bales. To meet the demand, companies import 80 per cent of the raw material from India, China and the rest of East Africa.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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