Practical, no-fluff guides for Kenyan brands sourcing sweaters and knitwear from Türkiye — EAC import duty, PVoC and KEBS, Mombasa logistics, the East African market and quality, written by a working flat-knit factory, not a content farm.
Why Kenyan brands add a non-China knitwear supplier — concentration risk, quality and MOQ flexibility. Honestly, for Kenya it is not about tariffs (both Turkey and China pay the full EAC CET) but diversification, quality and an English-language workflow.
Read guide → Tariffs & CustomsNo Türkiye–Kenya FTA. Knitwear enters under the EAC Common External Tariff (25% on apparel) plus 16% VAT — and China is in the same position. How the duty works, and the IDF / PVoC / KEBS process.
Read guide → Sourcing GuideSeven checkpoints that predict whether an overseas factory works out — equipment, samples, communication, QC stages, traceability, price transparency and references — plus KEBS / PVoC conformity.
Read guide → TechniqueSeamless one-piece knitting explained — fit, durability, near-zero waste — the Shima Seiki MACH2XS requirement, and why this equipment is clustered in Gaziantep. A premium complement to local and EAC production.
Read guide → Quality ControlHow to hit your quality bar through clear spec sheets and inspection checkpoints — KEBS / PVoC conformity (the CoC needed to clear your container), sealed samples, 4-stage QC and AQL. The English-language spec advantage.
Read guide → LogisticsOcean routes Mersin → Mombasa in ~18–25 days, Incoterms, and the Kenyan customs reality — IDF, PVoC Certificate of Conformity, KEBS, KRA and 16% VAT, then inland to Nairobi.
Read guide → Certification & ESGOEKO-TEX STANDARD 100, GOTS, bluesign and RCS/GRS — what they certify, how to obtain them and what they cost. Why they matter for re-export to the EU/US (AGOA context) and East Africa.
Read guide → Regional StrategyKenya as the EAC hub — a single base serving ~300M people across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and beyond. EAC internal trade, Nairobi as a regional fashion centre, and the honest 25% CET on non-EAC imports.
Read guide → Private LabelThe full private-label path — tech pack, factory and samples, approval, pre-production, production, QC and import. MOQ 250 thinking, a first-order test approach, and the English-language workflow advantage.
Read guide → Sourcing ComparisonAn honest five-point comparison — duty is parity (both pay the full EAC CET 25%), China wins on huge-volume unit cost, Turkey leads on quality and flat-knit, and English communication is a genuine plus.
Read guide → PlanningPhase by phase — tech pack, sampling, revisions, production and ~18–25 day ocean transit to Mombasa, plus PVoC / KEBS timing. First-order total ~14–20 weeks; repeats ~9–13 weeks. Planning back from your season.
Read guide → SourcingThe Gaziantep flat-knit cluster — Shima Seiki/Stoll concentration, supply-chain completeness, 20+ years of European-brand export experience. An honest comparison with China, Portugal and Bangladesh.
Read guide →Not Kenya-specific, but useful for any brand sourcing knit.