Rift Valley Textile Mills embark on project to increase raw materials

Rift Valley Textile Mills (Rivatex) has embarked on an aggressive project aimed at increasing its raw materials by investing in its own cotton farms, to stop over-relying on imports. Dr David Tuigong, the firm’s managing director, says the company is spending a significant amount of money on imported cotton, yet the country is well endowed with suitable land for cotton cultivation. “Out of about 600 tonnes of cotton that we need for optimum production per year, we import over 250 tonnes, mainly from Uganda and Tanzania. We can produce our own locally and this is the direction we are pursuing,” he said. The managing director said that apart from dyes and chemicals, the firm also imports about 80 tonnes of man-made fibres per year from the Far East. read on: http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/Rivatex+opts+for+its+own+cotton+farms/-/1006/1251190/-/4il9gi/-/index.html