Kenya is now ranked third in terms of apparel and textile exports to the United States. In April, the country overtook Mauritius to get behind Lesotho and South Africa, side by side with a 38 per cent increase in Africa''s share of the US textile and apparel market - from 1.55 per cent of the total in first half of 2002, to 1.86 per cent between January and June.

Kenya accounted for 13.2 per cent of the total square metres equivalent of the products sent to the US. The upsurge in the activity follows the accreditation of the country in 2000 under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a duty-free arrangement which gave a fresh impetus to textile products.

Kenya''s textile industry had collapsed after the US shut out several products over alleged transshipment of Asian goods in 1994. Of the 54 firms operating from the export processing zones last year, textile firms were the majority at 31 if not the most influential. They had ploughed in investment of Sh7 billion out of the total Sh12.7 billion. The investment was followed by printing (Sh3.3 billion) and chemical oils with Sh1.3 billion.

Textile firms employed 25,288 people, trailed by agro-processing with 514, according to the newly released Export Processing Zones Authority annual report.