Nigeria spends up to $4bn a year importing textile products as local industry collapses

NIGERIA spends about $4bn a year importing clothing products into the country according to recent findings just published by the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN).

John Adaji, the immediate past president of the NUTGTWN, recently revealed this data, stating that about 90% of the textile products in Nigeria are imported. Speaking at the opening session of the 13th national delegates conference of the union in Abuja, he called on the federal government to initiate policies aimed at reviving the moribund Nigerian textile industry.

Mr Adaji said: “Some 90% of textile products in Nigerian markets today are imported. The government should revive and invest in the textile industry in order to create 2m jobs in the country and as well reduce over $4bn import bill incurred on textile and apparels annually.”
 

Also, Mr Adaji lamented the high production cost of textile materials in the country, which he attributed to poor infrastructure and high energy costs. He further noted that the industry continues to experience low patronage, particularly from government agencies and parastatals in spite of the federal government’s Executive Order 003 which mandates ministries, departments and agencies to spend more of their budgets on locally produced goods.

Referencing the South Africa’s clothing and textile sector which experienced a lull due to lack of local patronage and dumping of imported textile materials, he however noted that because of conscious efforts on the part of the South Africa government through its Buy South Africa Campaign, the textile and clothing sector has been revived with many jobs created. Ambassador  Nura Rimi the permanent secretary at the ministry of industry, trade, and investment , expressed the desire of the government to revive the sector to its revenue generating status.

He said the government had initiated lots of reforms geared towards resuscitating the sector, particularly in policy development and implementation to impact on both the industry and the economy. According to Ambassador Rimi, the sector in the past employed at least 450,000 Nigerians, in over 170 textile mills throughout the country.

Also, Ambassador Rimi said that the ministry was currently finalising the textile adjustment tax levy, stressing that the prospects and challenges in the sector need cross-cutting efforts and strategic action by both government agencies, including the private sector to achieve the desired results. Some of the strategies put in place to ensure the sector’s revitalisation include a grant of N100bn for the purchase of equipment, the delivery of seeds to cotton producers and the issuance of import duty exemption certificates to duty-free machinery and spare parts importers.