Review of Rwanda"s textile clothing subsector

On a per capita basis, Rwanda imports twice the Africa-wide average of used clothing and four times as much as neighboring Zaire. Consumers allocate slightly over 25% of all clothing expenditure for used garments, which are imported in large bales from the United States and Europe, refurbished where necessary, and distributed for sale in public market places or re-exported to neighboring countries. It is estimated that more than half of Rwanda"s used clothing is re-exported, almost always fraudulently, to Zaire, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania. The used clothing business has been a controversial policy issue in some African nations, and both Kenya and Nigeria have banned it for fear that it would cause displacement in the domestic textile industries. Although Rwanda does have abnormally low employment in tailoring, the report cautions against policies which penalize the used clothing business. According to the study, used clothing generates maximum income per unit of sales, supplies consumers at the lowest cost, benefits the poorest consumers most directly, and generates nearly as much employment as small-scale tailoring. Includes policy recommendations to improve performance of the garment industry and used clothing distributors.