The textile industry in Kenya covers different sectors, from the farming of cotton to the production of fabrics and tailored clothes.

Cotton in Kenya is mostly cultivated in small farms in the arid and semi-arid areas of the country. The current number of farms (140,000) has significantly decreased compared to the 200,000 farms operating in the 1980s. The Cotton Board of Kenya estimates that 350,000 hectares of land are suitable for growing cotton using only water collected after the rains, while a further 34,500 hectares could be suitable with enhanced irrigation techniques.

In 1990, before the decline of the sector, 52 factories were producing threads and clothes with an overall production of 115M square metres of fabrics. The local demand for clothes (141M square metres) was covered by 85%. The current demand (225M square metres) is prevalently covered by the importation of second hand clothes. The factories producing clothes are estimated to be 55.

The woollen production is less developed and is almost entirely exported (the main destination being the United Kingdom). Artificial fabrics are imported.

Export from Kenya is facilitated by preferential and duty free agreements. The convention that has had a major impact on the textile sector is the African Growth And Opportunity Act (AGOA, 2002 – 2007). The main effect of such an agreement has been the increase in the number of employees: 10,000 in 2000; 15,000 in 2001 and 37,000 in 2003. The positive performance was however reduced by the massive importation of fabrics and clothes by China.

Other agreements are the Cotonou Agreement between the European Union and the ACP countries, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), negotiated within the UNCTAD framework. Thanks to this agreement, in 2004 the export of textile products to the United States has been estimated to be 6,79 M USD

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