The sector will however contend with myriad challenges it currently faces which have resulted in exit of some firms from Kenya and the share of the sector’s contribution to the economy declining to just 7.7 per cent last year from 10 per cent in 2014.

President Uhuru says there is a raft of measures that his administration is undertaking to prop up the industrial sector and woo more firms to set up production facilities in Kenya as well as increase capacity among those already operating in the country.

This would enable the industry to churn out competitively priced products that will meet demand not just for the Kenyan market but also the region.

>Already a key exporter of finished products to other East African countries, Kenya is looking to grow the market to include nations outside the East African Community.

It expects the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to serve as a key platform to enable it substantially grow the footprint of locally-made products on the continent.

The AfCFTA agreement has been ratified by 24 African countries and is expected to be launched in July, opening up trade on the continent.

It is aimed at create a single market for goods and services, akin to the European Union, enabling free movement of goods and people.

Uhuru said the government would deepen relations that allow the country to export to markets such as North America, Europe and even China. Such include America’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) and the European Partnership Agreements (EPAs).

Trouble as Pakistanis begin to lose appetite for Kenyan tea

Opportunities

“We will deepen the relations that we have with the different markets and regions so as to ensure that once we have grown our manufacturing and agriculture sectors, the products that come out have markets. Our own market is not enough, we have to move out,” Uhuru said on KTN News during an exclusive interview.

“There still are unexplored opportunities in Agoa and the EPAs. I am keen on these markets for local manufactured goods as well as looking for a market in China for products such as avocados and flowers.”

Under Kenya’s Big Four Agenda, manufacturing is being propped to increase its contribution to the economy to 15 per cent by 2022.

Source: Standard Digital

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