Post-Multifibre Arrangement Analysis of the Textile and Garment Sectors in Kenya
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Date
2006Author
Kamau, Njuguna Paul
McCormick, Dorothy
Ligulu, Peter
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The textile and clothing industry represents a vital
source of income for developing countries. World
trade in textiles and clothing constitutes almost
US$400bn – nearly 10 per cent of all trade in
manufactured goods. A major proportion of these
exports comes from developing countries, including
more than 70 per cent of all apparel exports, making
the sector a vital source of employment, income and
foreign exchange revenues. Globally, tens of millions
of people work in textiles and clothing, more than
two-thirds of whom are located in Asia (Oxfam
2004, Appelbaum 2004). It is estimated that nearly
three-quarters of all workers in the garment industr
y
are women
.
Until the end of 2004, the world’s largest importers
of textiles and clothing protected their markets
through a restrictive system of Multifibre Arrangement
(MFA) import quotas, combined with high tariffs.
Further, the restrictions curtailed the ability of
developing countries to generate sorely needed
employment opportunities in these labour-intensive
sectors (Kathuria et al.2001; Smith 1996). To partly
offset this restrictive regime, developed countries
designed mechanisms to allow selected countries to
access their markets under preferential arrangements.
Such regimes include the US’ African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the European Union’
s
African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP-EU) under the
Lomé Convention and Cotonou Agreement, and the
Everything-But-Arms (EBA), among others.
Citation
KURIA, MRKAMAUPAUL. 2006. Post-Multifibre Arrangement Analysis of the Textile and Garment Sectors in Kenya (with Dorothy McCormick, and Peter Ligulu) IDS Bulletin Volume 37 Number 1, (Institute of Developing Studies, University of Sussex), PP. 80-85, 2006. Published by the Polytechnic of Berlin, Berlin. : Heinrich Boll Foundation.Publisher
University of Nairobi