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Renewed drive to ban ‘mitumba’ risks Kenya, US trade ties
Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry (MITI) Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui makes his remarks during the 2025 Quarter One (Q1 2025) State of the Oil Industry Briefing held on March 25, 2025 at Serena Hotel.
The government is considering banning second-hand (mitumba) cloth imports after the US-imposed tariffs on Kenyan exports, sparking a debate that could revive high emotions in the Kenya-US trade.
In a new policy on the cotton, textile, and apparel sector, the Ministry of Trade and Investment blames the deterioration of the local textile sector on the high importation of mitumba, saying the time has come to take action on the dumping of second-hand clothes in Kenya.
The hard stance comes after the US government imposed a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from Kenya, placing local textile exporters at the risk of loss of market.
The Office of the US Trade Representative flagged Kenya’s tax policy on second-hand clothes and clean energy stoves as well as price subsidies on key agricultural products as a barrier to trade—prompting the tariff action by President Donald Trump.
However, while the ministry on Tuesday appeared to talk tough on the impact mitumba trade has had in the local textile industry, senior officials shied away from issuing any directives as they left the decision to be made “at the right place”.
Trade Cabinet secretary Lee Kinyanjui said while the ministry is championing the growth of the local textile industry through more investments in cotton farming and value-addition infrastructure, that cannot happen in the context of current trends in mitumba imports.
“Those are two things that cannot co-exist. We have to choose one; either we continue importing mitumba and have our children jobless back at home or consider supporting the local industry, creating initiatives that will help us increase employment and bring national pride,” he said.
The Cabinet secretary was, however, non-committal on when the decision would be made.
“Decisions should be made at the right place but from a technical point of view the two don’t exist on the same paradigm,” said Mr Kinyanjui.
The importation of second-hand clothes has been blamed for the death of Kenya’s textile industry, which was productive in the 80s and 90s.
Kenya imported 865,911.5 tonnes of second-hand clothes valued at Sh95.2 billion between 2019 and 2023.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reported that in 2023, mitumba imports grew by 11.5 percent to 198,083.5 metric tonnes valued at Sh26.27 billion, the highest rate of imports over the last five years.
The ministry’s cotton, textile, and apparel policy says while the industry has been one of Kenya’s leading foreign exchange earners, “the sector collapsed due to trade liberalisation and subsequent introduction of second-hand clothes”.
The policy explores ways to boost the textile and apparel sector through boosting cotton production, value addition, and enhancing market access for Kenyan exporters.
The ministry says some traders have been importing new clothes disguised as mitumba, which has affected the competitiveness of locally made textile products.
“Some people have been advancing the argument that the local clothes are not as trendy or fashionable as the Mitumba. The truth is that the mitumba is actually made in Kenya. Our view is that the time to act is now,” said Mr Kinyanjui.
The ministry says one of the interventions to promote the local textile industry is to “regulate imports and strengthen local production, develop and enforce regulations on second-hand clothing imports while promoting local textile manufacturing to ensure sustainability and competitiveness in the sector.”
Industry PS Juma Mukhwana said Kenya had been left behind after neighbouring countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, and Ethiopia banned mitumba imports.
“Part of our stagnation is because of the import of used clothes. How do we grow a vibrant new clothes sector when we are also importing Mitumba in bales? We are trying to revive the sector while not addressing the elephant in the room,” PS Mukhwana said.
While noting that Kenya’s textile industry continues to stagnate due to the impact of Mitumba imports, the PS concluded that “I don’t have the solution.”
The US is Kenya’s second-largest source of Mitumba after China and has been at the forefront of the push against any ban on its imports into Kenya, but the tariffs on Kenyan exports seem to have emboldened Nairobi to take action.
Kenya exported goods valued at Sh95 billion ($737.3 million) to the US last year, out of which 72 percent (Sh68 billion) were textile and apparel products.
With the tariffs coming at a time when Kenya is facing an imminent end to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) which has granted duty-free access to Kenya’s textile exports to the US market, the government has been exploring alternatives.
The Ministry says among markets it is eyeing for the export of products that could lack market in the US is the European Union through the economic partnership agreement (EPA) signed in 2023, and the African market through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
