…As Chinese firm invests $110m in ceramic tiles, baby diapers production in Zambia***
China was the leading source of second-hand clothes and footwear to Kenya in 2020, said a report released in Kenya on Thursday.
Kwame Owino, the Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), disclosed this in Nairobi.
Owino said one of the reasons for significant imports into Kenya was that China “has a huge textile sector and thus the capacity to export both used or out of season textile and apparels.”
The report published by IEA seeks to examine the structure and extent of the used clothing industry and its contribution to the economy.
The report indicated that China accounted for 41 per cent of all imports of second hand clothes in 2019, with Pakistan, Canada, Britain, and the U.S. as other major sources.
The report showed that 97 per cent of Kenya’s imports of second-hand textiles were made in about 20 countries.
The study described Kenya as one of the largest importers of second-hand clothes in sub-Saharan Africa because of its use and export to other countries.
“The volume of imported second-hand clothes and footwear reflect the domestic demand for these goods among the Kenyan population,” says the IEA report.
In another development, a Chinese firm has commenced the construction of two factories for the production of ceramic tiles and baby diapers at the cost of 110 million dollars in Zambia.
Also read: Zambia approves bill to legalise cannabis cultivation for research purposes
Sunda Group is constructing the two factories at the Lusaka South Multi-Facility Zone, with 100 million dollars to be invested in the ceramic tile factory while 10 million dollars will go towards the baby diaper production factory.
This came to light when the Zambia Consulate-General in Guangzhou held a meeting with a delegation from the company led by Vice-President Daniel Wang, according to a statement from the consulate on Thursday.
The factory to produce ceramic tiles under the brand name Twyford is expected to begin production in April this year while the baby diaper factory will start production in June this year under the name Software.
Wang said during the meeting that the investment was expected to create 500 jobs during the construction phase and 1,500 once production starts.
He said the company would use 95 per cent locally sourced inputs in the production of ceramic tiles, a situation that would promote value addition and create an estimated 2,000 indirect jobs.
The company, he said, was committed to promoting Zambia’s industrialisation and value addition agenda as more investments would be undertaken in the southern African nation.
Consul-General at the Consulate General of Zambia in Guangzhou Daniel Chisenga thanked the Chinese firm for actualising its investment in Zambia.
According to him, the investment gives impetus to Zambia’s economic diplomacy, a strategy under which the country’s embassies abroad have been tasked to attract foreign private investment.
Xinhua
