The weak shilling, coupled with the global supply chain constraints have together impacted on prices and volumes.
A reported shortage of new clothing at stores in key markets such as the US, UK and China on reduced production, has also seen demand for used clothes go up.
This comes on the back of a “circular makeover” in the textile industry where companies are recycling used clothes to create cheap, on-trend clothing products, a move that is also pegged on waste management.
“The fashion industry has long been criticised for the impact it has on the environment,” notes Elisa Tonda, Head of Consumption and Production Unit at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Much of that criticism is justified, she adds, “but at the same time, there is a lot of innovation happening right now that bodes well for the future.”
A vessel shortage to the region, which has been occasioned by increased trade between Asia, US and Europe, has also led to increased international freight charges which according to the Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA), have increase by between 20–25 per cent.
“When global trade started to pick, a lot of big carriers focused more on China and Europe with only smaller vessels coming to the East Africa,” SCEA chief executive Gilbert Lang’at told the Star.
The shilling has weakened to 120.28 to a unit of the Dollar by Monday, from an average 115 in April. Traders are also struggling to secure dollars for their imports.
Traders have further reported high import duty and taxes in the country, which have driven up costs of doing business, forcing them to pass on the cost to buyers.
Importing a 40-foot container from China has more than tripled from $3,000 (about Sh360, 750) in August last year, to an average $10,100 (Sh1.21 million).
Taxes on a similar consignment have gone up to about Sh2 million from Sh1.8 million shillings, the Mitumba Traders Association notes.
“We ask the government to consider reducing taxes,” association chairperson Teresia Njenga told the Star.
Locally, mitumba bale prices, which range from Sh8,000 to Sh50,000, have increased by more than 40 per cent, traders note.
This means a bale that would cost Sh8,000 is now about Sh10,500.
A bale of premium jeans for kids containing about 150 pieces is going for about Sh14,000, an average price of Sh90-Sh95 per piece.
In most market places, 'camera’ jeans for kids are now selling at between Sh200 to Sh 300, from a low of Sh150.
A pair of sweatpants that was going at Sh200 is now about Sh300 market, with a re-sale price of Sh500 and above by hawkers. Items that would go for Sh20 are now averaging Sh50, a spot check by the Star noted.
Prices of second-hand shoes have also increased amid reduced supply of new stocks.
“My stocks are getting depleted. If I don’t get any supplies from the importers in the next one month, I will have nothing much to offer my customers,” Moses Tusiyenge, a dealer along Tom Mboya Street, Nairobi, told the Star.
A pair of male shoes that was going for Sh2,000 is now averaging between Sh2,500 and Sh3,000.
Njenga affirmed that traders have no option but to pass the costs to buyers.
Mitumba which remain a favourite for low and middle-income households are considered cheap, and of superior quality and unique fashion compared to locally produced apparels.
Price increases exerts more pressure on majority of households currently struggling with high inflation, at a five-year high of 8.5 per cent in August. This is mainly on high food prices.
A survey by the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Mitumba Consortium Association indicates that 91.5 per cent of households across the country bought mitumba in the year 2019.
China is the top source market with others being Canada, the UK, Pakistan, the US, Poland, Germany and the UAE.
Approximately two million Kenyans are said to be working in the mitumba market.
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