18,000 Kenyans lose jobs as steel prices tumble

Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed (left) with Devki Steel Mill Chairman Narendra Raval during a familiarisation tour of the firm in Ruiru last year. The firm is one of those that have been hit hard by the slump in steel prices, sending home more than 2,000 employees. [PHOTO: KAMAU MAICHUHIE/STANDARD]

As global prices of steel tumble to their lowest levels in over a decade, several local steel manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the huge inflow of cheap steel imports from China.

And now, these manufacturers are crying out to the government to come to their urgent aid. China, by far the greatest producer of steel, has been experiencing some economic stagnation. Demand for steel by Chinese factories has thus waned forcing the world's second largest economy to pump more of this metal into the global market. The result has been a steel-glut and a considerable reduction in price.