Kenya is known for its huge exports of tea, coffee, and flowers. It exported about USD 1.2 billion in 2020 (Mwaniga). The figures make the country the third-largest exporter globally. Tea exports are mainly done to Pakistan, Russia, the UK, and the United Arabs Emirates. In the same year, Kenya exported about USD 229M (Mwaniga). It’s ranked as the twenty-fifth coffee exporter on the globe. It was the fifth largest exported product in the country. The export was done to the United States, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and South Korea. Kenya is ranked the third exporter of cut flowers globally. The horticultural sector is the third biggest earner of foreign exchange. It provides 1 percent of Kenya’s GDP, and the flower industries are known to employ more than 150,000 individuals. In 2019, cut flowers generated about USD 960 million (Kenya Flower Council, 2019).
The repurposed clothes in the United Kingdom are sold and exported to other countries including Kenya. The clothes are often referred to by the locals as “Mitumba.” More than two million Kenyans are in the Mtumba market and serve as the lifeblood of many households. The clothes have no class and anyone can wear them. Kenya imports those clothes for both personal use and exports also to its neighboring countries. The mitumba sector is vital to the country’s
economy due to its contributions to providing jobs to the Kenyan people and also as a source of revenue for the government.
