Browsing: Imported second-hand clothes

Second hand clothes officially banned in Uganda

On the 1st of June 2023, African ministers for trade and industries adopted a protocol that prevents trading second-hand clothes across the continent under the preferences of the AfCFTA. This was during the high-level African Union – East African Community and the private sector forum, the second Ministerial Retreat of the Council of Ministers on the AfCFTA, held in Nairobi, Kenya, to assess the progress and address critical aspects of the agreement's implementation.…

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Second hand clothes bales. Africa has been fighting a losing battle in banning second hand clothing which is accused of killing local textile industries. www.theexchange.africa

The second-hand clothes business is huge in Africa raking in billions especially in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda and Benin. 

These five countries are among the world's biggest markets for used clothing sold to the masses due to affordability. So big is the business in Kenya that importers saw a 4.9 per cent increase from US$157.4 million in 2018 to US$164.8 million in 2019. 

Data by the Economic Survey 2020 shows that Kenyan traders imported 185,000 tonnes of used apparel in 2019 alone. That same year, the second-hand clothes industry popularly known as Mitumba contributed KShs12 billion (US$110 million) translating to US$10 million per month.…

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