Kenya has overtaken Nigeria as the highest importer and is dependent on the import of second-hand clothes popularly known as Okiri in Nigeria.
ENigeria News reports that a survey by Business Insider Kenya imported used clothes (Okirika) valued at Sh38.5 billion ($298 million), a 12.45% rise over the previous year, according to the most recent trade data published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a university in the United States.
The increase demonstrates Kenya’s increasing reliance on reasonably priced used clothes, or “mitumba” as it is known locally, which includes dresses, shirts, pants, coats, shoes, bedding, towels, curtains, and undergarments.
ENigeria News reports that MIT’s Observatory of Economic Complexity ranked South Africa third with Sh33.76 billion ($261 million) in 2022, while Kenya imported almost as much used clothing and textiles as Nigeria ($34.5 billion, or $265 million).
In 2021, South Africa was the leading importer of used clothes and textiles, though the country restricted such imports, except for specific purposes such as manufacturing industrial wiping rags or donating to registered charities.
In 2023, Ghana ranked as the second-largest importer of second-hand clothes, with imports valued at Sh30.4 billion. South Africa followed at Sh29.4 billion, with Uganda at Sh27.2 billion and Nigeria at Sh27 billion.
Despite Nigeria’s larger population and official ban on used clothing imports, Kenya now leads the continent in the trade.
Recent tax policy changes, including the removal of the import declaration fees (IDF) and the railway development levy (RDL), are expected to further increase mitumba imports in Kenya. Manufacturers have kicked against these changes, arguing that they undermine local industry.
