Nigeria: Country Missing in N50.4 Trillion Global Textile Trade
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Vanguard (Lagos)
28 August 2008
Posted to the web 28 August 2008
Franklin Alli & Naomi Uzor
NIGERIA is not one of the countries that have been profiting from the $400 billion (about N50.4 trillion) global textile trade.
"Of the $400 billion value of global trade in textile and textile related businesses, Africa's market share as at June, 2008 accounted for just $200 million, a very minute fraction of the world trade. Of this amount, Kenya takes $79m. South Africa, Egypt, Botswana and Lesotho are also visible on the chart," said Obia Ofem one of the facilitators at a seminar on textile industry.
Ofem, who spoke on 'A Global Perspective', told stakeholders that as a matter of fact, while many of these African countries are trying to make the most of the opportunities created by African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and its other preferential trade conditions by EU, the Nigeria industry is actually struggling to find a space in the local scene.
She pointed out that despite the country's vast resources and the teeming market of more than 140 million, the country has not featured on the export chart.
She stated that AGOA is America's way of helping economic growth for developing countries.
"By this Act, textile imports of African origin are duty free to make them very competitive in the vast apparels and textile market of America. Ironically, however, the level of exports from the developing countries is increasing even in the face of high tariffs and quantitative restrictions by economically developed nations. South Africa, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Lesotho, Cote'D Voire, Morocco, Tunisia, Namibia, Senegal and Mauritius are taking home something.
"It is sad though to note here that Nigeria has not as a matter of deliberate economic policy, made any move towards taking this opportunity to grow this sector of the economy," she lamented.
She foresees that by the year 2009, there might be a total collapse of the textile factories in the country if nothing is done to reverse the descent.
The steady decline in the fortunes of the biggest African textile industry located in Nigeria, is indeed worrisome. From a buoyant industry employing over 250,000 workers in the 1970s through the 1980s, it has declined to an alarming point that it is now managing to keep about 10,000 staff.
Meanwhile, statistics indicate that the global textile production will grow by 25 per cent by 2020; and the Asian region will largely contribute in this regard.
True to the predication, Asia has become a hub of textile trade after the abolition of the quota regime, since the start of 2005.
This is due to the fact that major exporting countries of the region instead of importing yarn from Pakistan as the developed countries did, have invested heavily in their spinning industries to produce yarn.
China, India and Bangladesh who have solid value added textile base have invested heavily in the spinning sector to cater to the increasing yarn needs of their textile.
Of the $400 billion investment in textile from June 1999 to the October 2006, more than 50 per cent went to spinning. 25 per cent went to fabric and a major chuck of the remaining to dyeing and fishing. Only nominal investment was made in the knitting or garments sectors.
Relevant Links
Currently, most of the textile trade is concentrated in Asia, with low cost countries like China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and even Cambodia rapidly capturing the value added textile market vacated by developed nation due to high cost production.
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