OEM merino cardigans for Kenyan and East African brands — extra-fine merino, fully fashioned or WHOLEGARMENT seamless, produced in our own flat-knit facility in Gaziantep, Turkey, and shipped to Mombasa under your label.
A merino cardigan is one of the most scrutinised pieces in a brand's collection — customers touch it, wear it close to skin and judge quality instantly. We produce merino cardigans on Shima Seiki and Stoll machines, in extra-fine grades with full fibre traceability, under your label. OEKO-TEX certified yarn with documentation that travels cleanly through KEBS conformity assessment and KRA clearance at Mombasa. We are a pure OEM partner — your brand, your label, never ours. See our OEM knitwear manufacturing overview for how the partnership works.
Extra-fine merino (17.5–18.5μ) and superfine (16–17μ). Yarns sourced with Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certification on request. Full origin and OEKO-TEX documentation to support PVoC and KEBS requirements.
7gg through 14gg — from structured mid-gauge outerwear to fine-knit layering pieces. We'll recommend the gauge that matches your silhouette and price-point.
Seamless merino cardigans on Shima Seiki 12gg and 14gg — no side seams, minimal waste, premium construction that reads luxury at retail. Built in-house on our 15 Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT machines.
Button bands, pockets, ribbed hem and cuff options. Linking in-house for clean, flat seams. Finishing and piece-by-piece QC inspection before packing for the Mersin–Mombasa route.
Let's be honest about the trade picture first. Turkey and Kenya have no free trade agreement. Merino knitwear enters Kenya under the East African Community Common External Tariff — 25% on textiles — plus 16% VAT. Chinese-origin knitwear pays exactly the same EAC CET. There is no tariff advantage over China. Any supplier who tells you otherwise is misreading the customs schedule.
So the case for Turkey is built on what actually differentiates us: genuine extra-fine merino hand quality on a par with European mills, WHOLEGARMENT seamless construction that few suppliers anywhere can offer, English-language business handling end to end, and a credible China+1 diversification strategy that de-risks your supply chain without putting all your volume into a single market. For a Nairobi label or an exporter serving the wider region, that combination — premium product plus risk balance — is the real argument, not the duty line.
Turkey complements Kenya's own textile base rather than competing with it. Kenyan EPZ and AGOA production is built around volume cut-and-sew apparel for the US market; flat-knit merino cardigans on Shima Seiki and Stoll machines are a different discipline. We fill the specialist knit gap, and you keep your local programmes where they belong. Read our honest Turkey vs China comparison for the full breakdown.
Bringing a merino cardigan programme into Kenya is straightforward once the documentation is in order, and we prepare the export paperwork to match your clearance needs.
You lodge an Import Declaration Form (IDF) before shipment. We provide the commercial invoice, packing list and origin documentation needed to support it.
Knitwear is subject to the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) programme — a Certificate of Conformity is issued at origin before shipment, then recognised by KEBS on arrival. We supply OEKO-TEX and test data to support it.
The Kenya Revenue Authority applies the EAC Common External Tariff (25% on textiles) plus 16% VAT. Pricing is quoted FOB so you can model landed cost in KES against your retail.
Clearing through Mombasa positions you not just for Kenya but for the wider EAC single-market region of roughly 300 million people, where goods move more freely once inside the bloc.
Finished cardigans ship from the port of Mersin on Turkey's Mediterranean coast through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean to the port of Mombasa. Plan on roughly 18–25 days of ocean transit, plus consolidation and clearance time. We build that window into every production schedule so your delivery dates are realistic, and we palletise and label to your spec for clean handling at Mombasa.
For a deeper look at the route and clearance, see our guides on Kenya import duty on Turkish knitwear and East Africa EAC knitwear sourcing.
Indicative FOB Mersin ranges for merino cardigans at 250–500 pcs MOQ. Exact pricing depends on gauge, stitch complexity, button/trim specification and order volume.
| Style | Gauge | Indicative FOB |
|---|---|---|
| Plain open-front cardigan, extra-fine merino | 12gg | $32–45 |
| Button cardigan, superfine merino | 14gg | $40–58 |
| WHOLEGARMENT cardigan, extra-fine merino | 12gg | $48–65 |
| Cable-knit merino cardigan | 7–10gg | $38–55 |
Indicative FOB Mersin in USD. Add ocean freight to Mombasa, EAC duty (25%) and 16% VAT for landed cost in KES.
We work with extra-fine merino (17.5–18.5 micron) for lightweight 12–14gg cardigans and superfine merino (16–17 micron) for luxury-grade pieces. Yarn is sourced with full traceability and OEKO-TEX certification on request — useful documentation when your goods clear KEBS and KRA at Mombasa.
12gg gives a refined mid-weight hand — ideal for cool-evening Nairobi wear and export collections. 7–10gg produces a structured mid-gauge with more body, suitable for outerwear-weight pieces. WHOLEGARMENT is available on 12gg and 14gg machines.
No. There is no Turkey–Kenya FTA. Knitwear pays the EAC Common External Tariff (25%) plus 16% VAT, and Chinese-origin goods pay the same. We compete on quality, WHOLEGARMENT capability, English-language handling and China+1 diversification — not on customs duty.
250 pieces per colour, per size. Designed for independent and contemporary Kenyan and East African brands building considered capsule collections.
Send a tech pack or a reference style. We'll return a capacity check, indicative FOB pricing and a sample timeline within one business day.
Our standard MOQ is 250 pieces per colour, per size. This is designed for independent and contemporary Kenyan and East African brands building considered capsule collections rather than mass volume.