Abstract: On June 23, local time, in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, an used-clothes market named gikomba was on fire. According to the report from the media, at that moment, the fire was very strong. It took several hours for the local firemen to put it out.

On June 23, local time, in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, an used-clothes market named gikomba was on fire. According to the report from the media, at that moment, the fire was very strong. It took several hours for the local firemen to put it out. It was reported that the used-clothes market named gikomba was nearly burnt to ashes.

Then what effects will the fire make on the local used-clothes market?

First, the price of the local used clothes will rise a little in the future.

As we know, the market in Nairobi was considered to be a big one in Kenya. Its capacity accounted for 22% of the capacity of the country. Although we don’t know the specific amount of the used clothes burnt in the fire, we have reasons to believe that the price of the local used clothes will rise a little in the future, but not for a long time. It will recover in 2 to 3 months.

Second, the import volume will increase inevitably.

Because the most area of the local market was burnt, the import volume from Kenya will increase inevitably. We think the local will purchase goods of grade A and B in the short run to fill up the vacancy of the local market. The goods they import from China won’t be much. They need some upscale ball uniform and gauze materials to fill up their vacancy. In addition, they will also supplement some goods of grade A and B from Asia.

Third, the actual import price won’t be high.

We believe although the amount may increase, the price won’t rise too much. On one hand, the local merchants may have a shortage of money in a short term so they hope to used cheap goods to supplement their inventory. On the other hand, many local merchants want to take this time to enter the market rapidly. They want to rise the price to make more profits. However, on the whole, we think the price will be stable and won’t change obviously.

Forth, you should always keep an eye on the trade trick.

In the above three points, I have mentioned that lots of merchants will be out of fund. Although the local government will offer them subsidy, it’s little. The natural disaster is unavoidable and it’s also unavoidable that someone wants to recover his loss through tricks. Thus, we suggest that each factory should keep an eye on the trade trick. One should never intend to do harm to others, but should always guard against the harm others might do to him.

Key words: used clothes in Kenya, the price of used clothes in Kenya