Kenya should capitalize market opportunities other than textiles in the US, said Matanda Wabuyele, Chief Executive of Export Promotion Council.
Addressing the Council, Matanda Wabuyele said US markets were flooded with cotton trousers from China, which increased its exports by more than 1000 percent in 2005, in apparel category.
This situation has forced US textile industry to request government to restrict Chinese imports, he added.
In January last year, China picked a 35 percent share of the US import market for textiles and a 22 percent share for apparel.
The total Chinese share of the US import market is 67 percent, the highest share of any single country in history.
For this very reason Kenyan exporters should try to export other goods like coffee and tea, which are showing signs of growth in the US market, he said.
The Export Processing Council (EPC) is working closely with the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) and the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) to increase exports of tea, coffee, horticultural crops and textiles to the US.
