Sameer Industry Park Export Processing Zone wants Japanese investors to consider putting up textile businesses in Kenya, the bait; excellent incentives and a ready market in the US.

This comes at a time when African countries including Kenya have failed to meet export quotas under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a US preferential export facility for African Countries.

Kenya's textile exports averaged KSh 18.9 billion in 2005, KSh18.4 billion in 2006. 2007 saw the industry export net KSh 17.5 billion, according to the US Department of Commerce.

Sameer Industrial Park is one of the 30 factories in the Export Processing Zones clothing sector employing thousands of workers. Currently large amounts of fabric and accessories are imported from Asia because Kenyan textile mills are not able to produce enough to meet the demand.

Sameer's plea to investors would help establish modern textile mills to produce fabric and accessories, to supply the requirements of Kenyan apparel exporters.

Kenya's cotton industry has the capacity to produce over 380,000 bales of cotton per year, yet produces only a tenth of this.