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Tag: Textile industry

  • Fed Govt to reposition textile industry

    Fed Govt to reposition textile industry

    The Federal Government has expressed its commitment to repositioning the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) industry for sustainable growth.

    Sen. John Owan Enoh, Minister of State for Industry, said this at a Stakeholder’s Meeting on “Revitalising Nigeria’s Cotton, Textile and Garment Industry’’, in Abuja on Wednesday.

    The theme of the meeting was tagged “Co-Creating Solutions to Grow CTG Industry in Nigeria’’.

    Enoh said the objective of the meeting was to finalise the review of the policy document for the full revitalisation of the sector.

    He added that the meeting was also aimed at ensuring sustainable growth and development of the industry in line with global best practices.

    “As we seek to revive and reposition the sector, the ministry is fully committed to building a strong policy and institutional framework that reflects today’s realities and tomorrow’s possibilities.

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     “Your participation will support transparency, amplify stakeholder voices, and contribute to the development of this vital sector.

     “But this cannot and should not be done in isolation.

     “Your presence here is a powerful reminder that sustainable solutions are best shaped by those who live the challenges, those who drive the innovations and those who carry the vision.

     “We appreciate your usual support and cooperation,’’ he said.

    Enoh said that the meeting has been convened not just to consult, but to listen, collaborate and co-create.

     “I really appreciate your time, your voice, and your willingness to contribute meaningfully to this process.

     “Together we can weave a new narrative for the CTG industry, one of reliance, resilience, competitiveness, and shared prosperity,’’ he said.

    The minister said that the Industrial Revolution Work Group has been inaugurated, adding that one of the key objectives was to revitalise moribund industries.

    He said the ministry was working hard to revive moribund industries and ensure they thrive.

    Enoh also encouraged Nigerians to embrace locally made goods, adding that it would help to realise the nation’s potential.

    Similarly, Amb. Nura Rimi, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, said that the revitalisation and repositioning of the sector have immense potential for the nation’s economic growth, job creation, and overall industrial development.

    Rimi said the industry was a vibrant cornerstone of the economy, adding that it provides livelihoods for millions of families and contributes significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    He called for strong collaboration with relevant stakeholders to unlock the immense potential and achieve the goals and objectives of the industry.

    Mrs Adenike Ogunlesi, who represented the Garment and Accessories Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (GAMAN), said that garment was the demand engine of the CTG value chain.

    Ogunlesi said that the industry was the immediate channel for the creation of jobs, earning foreign exchange and giving national visibility on Made-in-Nigeria products.

    Also, Mr Hamma Kwajaffa, Director-General, Nigeria Textile Manufacturers Association, said that the meeting would promote the industry`s potential and help to address challenges being faced by the industry.

    Kwajaffa said that the association provides resources and training for textile and textile-related manufacturers, on manufacturing and human resources matters.

  • Minister: govt to revive textile industry

    Minister: govt to revive textile industry

    • $6b import generate 750,000 jobs in China, India

    The Federal Government plans to end the importation of $6 billion worth of textiles annually from China and India, which creates jobs for 750,000 workers in those countries.

    Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Sen. John Enoh, pledged the government’s commitment to reviving the textile industry and its value chains, as well as promoting Made in Nigeria.

    The minister, who is on three-day tour of industries in Lagos and Ogun state spoke yesterday.

    Between 1985 and 1990, the Nigerian textile industry had 250,000 employees, with more than 250 companies, but the number of employees has dropped to about 10,000.

    Enoh noted that the Tinubu Administration’s key agenda includes economic growth through manufacturing and job creation.

    He recalled that years ago, the Nigerian textile industry competed almost fairly with the government in employment.

    He commended the textile company for weathering the economic storm over the years.

    “When you say that about two million jobs can be created, that is a bit conservative, and when you talk about 300 containers coming into this country and not officially accounted for, that would be addressed.

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    “The Benin Republic has a flourishing textile garment industry, and their target is the Nigerian market.

    “I have the immediate mandate, in terms of the programme of the ministry, to promote made-in-Nigeria goods and services.

    “My visit here is to assure you that this is a government that is going to, and is able to, change this situation of things,” the minister said.

    Managing Director of Sunflag Nigeria Ltd., Mr. Alok Bhardwaj, said the company uses everything Nigerian in its production processes – from its people to cotton, wool, threads and yarns.

    He noted that the industry, between 1985 to 1990, had 250,000 employees, with more than 250 companies producing textiles in Nigeria, and today, had dropped to close to 10,000 employees.

    “You would be surprised to know that we import $6 billion every year of textiles into Nigeria, and Nigerian consumers by doing that, employ 750, 000 Chinese and Indian workers in their countries to clothe ourselves,” he said.

    Bhardwaj noted that threats facing the textile industry include the importation of second-hand clothing, which he said affects the tailoring end of the textile value chain.

    According to him, close to 1.5 million Nigerian tailors are affected because of the amount of second-hand clothing coming into the country unabated.

    He called for a level playing field that would put Nigerian goods first to uphold and protect the country’s manufacturing industry.

    “The employment of our people has a multiplying effect on the economy.

    “To achieve the growth targets of the government, it is very important that we employ our people to do our things for ourselves,” Bhardwaj said.

  • ‘Textile industry key driver of jobs’

    ‘Textile industry key driver of jobs’

    The National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGWN) has said Nigeria’s future lies in manufacturing, adding value to its abundant raw materials and creation of sustainable jobs.

    The union said:  “The cotton, textile and garment industry in particular is the key driver of sustainable jobs and development for most national economies of developing nations like Nigeria.”

    Its National President and General Secretary, Peters Godonu and Ali Baba, in a statement to commend the Kwara State government on the establishment and opening of a garment factory in Ilorin.

    “We appeal to governments at all levels, corporate organisations, schools, individuals and all well-meaning Nigerians to patronize the Kwara garment factory and other textile industries in the country thereby creating mass decent jobs and helping to alleviate poverty. Patronage of locally made textiles and garment would help in the recovery of the Nigeria’s textile and garment industry and attract more investment in the sector.

    “The Nigeria Customs Service must also intensify effort to combat smuggling and dumping of sub-standard garments from China and other Asian countries into Nigeria which has crippled local industries.

    “If Nigeria must maximise the benefit of Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) it must protect her local industries and provide the enabling environment to make local industries competitive.

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    “We have no doubt that the Kwara Garment Factory when in full operation, will help to reduce the country’s import dependence for garment and apparels, boost the nation’s export and position Nigeria to benefit from AfCFTA as well as the American Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

    “On behalf of the National Executive Council (NEC) of our union and the generality of our members, we most heartily commend his Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State for the establishment and successful opening of the Multi-million Naira Kwara Garment Factory located in the ancient city of Ilorin, Kwara State.

    “As a stakeholder in the cotton, textile and garment industry in Nigeria, the union is excited that the Kwara State Governor has proudly returned Kwara State to the league of textile/garment producing states in Nigeria with the successful establishment of the garment factory. 

    “We are also excited that the factory reportedly produced the official jerseys and other sporting wears for Kwara State’s contingents to the ongoing National Youths Games, holding in Asaba, Delta State.”

  • How paucity of funds stifled revitalisation of textile industry

    The Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar has decried the low production capacity of all the cotton producing companies in the country despite the different reforms initiated.

    The minister, who disclosed this during a media chat in Abuja, stated that the current administration at inception was determined to revitalise the textile industries as part of its campaign promises by visiting the different textile factories in Lagos, Zaria, Kaduna and Kano.

    However, she lamented that the ministry discovered abysmal level of growth with regards to production capacity. “The significance of the textile industry and its impact on the collapse on the nation’s economy is best illustrated by the fact that, at its height, the sector had created over 800,000 jobs, representing 25% of the total number of jobs in the manufacturing sector, second only to the government in the employment of labor. Also, there were 175 textile mills in the country during its golden era, (i.e. 1985 – 1991) out of which today, all but 27 of them have since gone under. In an attempt to understand the sector and the many challenges it faced, we traversed, held exhibitions, and had several but endless meetings.  We even met and held extensive talks or rubbing of minds with a broad spectrum of members and leadership of the textile labour union.”

    She stressed that other impediments hindering greater speed in the actualisation of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s blue print of action in the textile sector include the troubling phenomena of counterfeiting and smuggled textile materials especially from China.

  • Revive textile industry with recovered loots – Sports Forum tells Buhari

    Revive textile industry with recovered loots – Sports Forum tells Buhari

    The Forum of Directors of Sports in Nigeria has urged the Federal Government to deploy the money recovered from looters in reviving the moribund textile industry to create hundreds of thousands jobs for teeming youths.

    According to the Chairman of the forum and Kwara State Director of Sports, Mr Tunde Kasim, creating jobs for the teeming youths will reduce insecurity by curbing restiveness and vices, adding that reviving the various textile companies across the country by providing them with bailouts and other incentives will have huge direct impact on the economy of the country and Nigerians.

    Speaking at the Labour House office of the Nigeria Textile Workers in Kaduna after visiting the first textile company in the country, Kaduna Textiles Limited, Kasim, who lamented the sorry state of the company, urged the federal and state governments to patronize made-in-Nigeria goods. He stated that buying made-in-Nigeria goods will help improve the Nigerian economy as the wealth will circulate within and around the country.

    “The loot recovered by the Federal Government should be put in to reviving textile factories in the country. Bailout funds should be used to sustain the textile companies. The revival of the textile companies will lead to job opportunities for many youths in the country and reduce the high number unemployment in the country.

    “We visited the Kaduna Textiles expecting to meet some workers at work, but we were disappointed to meet the company in a sorry state. The factory was not very palatable. We have thousands of youths across the country unemployed. If the industry that can employ close to 500,000 workers goes moribund, what is the hope of our youths?  The factories should be revived to create jobs for our

  • ‘Growth prospects in textile industry dims’

    ‘Growth prospects in textile industry dims’

    The nation’s textile sec-tor appears the most affected by the economic downturn, the Director-General, Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA), Alhaji, Hamma Kwajaffa, has said.
    He expressed sadness that the sector which had about 187 textile mills in the 1980s and the early 1990s, now has only 24. In addition, the over 250,000 workers that were engaged then, have shrinked to just 24,000, with the likelihood that the sector’s workforce may decrease further.
    He said the sector is bedevilled by poor electricity supply, smuggling of textile materials from Asian countries, poor regulation and multiple taxation, adding that except these are taken care of, reviving the sector will remain an uphill task.
    Kwajaffa said: “The sector, just like any other sector of manufacturing, is having its fair share of the harsh economic environment. It is operating on an average of 20 per cent capacity utilisation.’’
    The challenges of the sector, he added, include non-availability of cotton, as growers prefer to export the product than sell to local textile manufacturers due to the fall in value of naira ; inadequate forex to import spare parts and raw materials; inclusion of some textile raw materials in the list of 41 items barred from interbank forex market and high cost of gas to power the generators.
    Others are low patronage of locally manufactured textile; influx of smuggled, sub standards textile materials in the country; and counterfeiting and faking of textile materials of local companies”.
    Kwajaffa also complained about what he called hostile and ill-thought out policies that have consistently affected the sector by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), he advised the CBN to conduct its research very well and consult widely with the Organised Private Sector (OPS) before banning any raw material from imports. He said rather than the new CBN policy growing the economy it would kill the manufacturing sector and lead to factory closures if not reviewed.
    He said the worse casualty of the new CBN policy may be the textile industry due to the unavailability of a petrochemical industry in the country. The Textile boss said they are not comfortable with the exclusion of 41 items from the FX market because a very important raw material, Polyester, which is a basic material in the sector was excluded from FX allocation from CBN.
    Kwajaffa said as at today some of the 41 banned items that are supposedly available at the Eleme Petro-Chemicals are not available, especially the Polyester. This is because of non refining of crude oil locally. He stressed the reversed policy on forex was not in their interest. He said it never favoured manufacturers in the first place.
    In the first place the forex was never adequate because 60 per cent allocated to manufacturing sector was never seen anywhere. Lots of companies had filled their Letters of Credit and rushed to their banks, but never got the Forex. So, the $390 million allegedly allocated to manufacturers is debatable.
    He said: “There are specific raw materials that are not produced here at all such as Polyester fill PET and Metlocene LDPE. The PET can only be found in India, China and Egypt, while the Metlocene LDPE can be purchased only in the US and Europe. The implication is that the lack of these raw materials has hastened the closure of companies, the most affected are Stallion Industries at the Gbagada Industrial Estate as well as Globe Spinning and Woollen and Synthetic.”

  • Why textile industry is moribund, by minister

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment,Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah has blamed the moribund state of the textile industry on lack of cotton and critical infrastructure, such as electricity supply.
    He lamented that these factors had been frustrating the government’s attempt to revive the sector.
    Enelamah, who spoke with reporters in Abuja at the weekend, said the situation in the textile sector was very complex.
    He said: “On the textile industry, it is a very complex situation, it has a problem of value chain, we don’t have enough cotton for them to produce so we are engaging the Ministry of Agriculture. We are also hoping to get some seeds for farmers to plant.
    “The government is working on ensuring people patronise made-in-Nigeria and wear them at least once a week officially, that way, we can raise patronage for the textile industry. Resolving these issues takes a while but we are working on it.
    “The Vice President’s visit to Aba is to interact with the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs) is called the MSMEs clinic; it is a new initiative that with time will spread to all states of the federation. We had to take the service to the people rather than waiting for them to come. Another reason is that in most cases, access is not always easy for them, what it means is that they now have the contact to follow up, and know the government’s policy direction on ease of doing business.
    “We are very delighted that the clinic kicked off in Aba, the clinic will move from there to all the zones. The idea of the clinic is to have all the relevant key agencies to render services to those people located where the MSMEs are. In Aba, we had a stand where the people came asked questions bordering on issues concerning their trading activities, and these issues were addressed.
    “On trade policy, we review our trade policy every five years; there is one going on right now, the trade policy review involves engaging multiple stakeholders in the economy and their input on how the trade policy works. It involves trade experts to advise you, you engage the world agency of trade, trade department with the trade adviser and negotiator, then they help to prepare a good material, that is where we are, the process will be finished this year, we started last year, where we are now is that the consultation is ongoing and should be wrapped up before the end of 2017.”
    On the sugar policy, he said: “The sugar policy has been ongoing for years now; the backward integration policy is one of the most successful, it is like the cement success story, the same policy was adopted for sugar, when we talked sugar, we look at sugarcane which is grown widely in Nigeria; we also have other sources of sugar like ethanol. In producing our own sugar there should be enough production capacity in the country either in terms of the basic raw materials or the processing.
    “The government, with time, will involve stakeholders to go into massive production of sugarcane. Nigeria consumes 1.4million tons of sugar in a year, almost all of that sugar was imported until 2013-2014 when the National Sugar Master Plan was put in place, and that master plan gave some importers concessions over a time period while we monitor the ability to produce the sugar locally.”
    Enalemah said the target right is to produce 4000,00 metric tons of sugar locally over a 10-year period so that players, such as Dangote, Flourmill and Bua, could produce without any difficulty. He said the production of sugar is capital intensive.

  • How Nigeria can revive ailing textile industry

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s good resolve to create three million new jobs in the textile industry is a positive development that deserves the support of all well-meaning and patriotic Nigerians. As a stakeholder in the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) sub-sector of the economy, I am assuring fellow Nigerians that the CTG sub-sector alone is capable of creating more than one million new jobs if all the right things are put in place, especially if there is political will on the part of both the executive and legislative arms of governments at all levels as well as the determination, sincerity, patience and commitment of all stakeholders.

    To ensure the success of President Buhari’s motives within a short period, institutions such as the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Central Bank of Nigeria, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission should forge as a formidable team to promote and protect the sub-sector the same way a mother guards and protects her child. A team work on the part of aforementioned institutions will ensure elimination of faulty documentations, money laundering, dumping of sub-standard textile materials as well as foreigners doing business in Nigeria with visiting visas or with fake entry documents.

    Also, the Presidency should pursue the principles of African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) of the United States with vigour. Opportunities abound for Nigeria in AGOA regarding garment production, which can guarantee employment of more tailors and continued patronage of students in departments of tailoring and fashion design in our tertiary institutions. This can equally bring about an increase in the establishment of small and medium scale industries such as zip making, buttons production, elastic and packaging industries, among others.

    For the desired result to be meaningful, Mr. President will need to declare a National Textile Day. This will be a once a week, non-ceremonial, but action-packed Day whereby all political office holders, appointees and other public office holders in the country will dress in home-made textile attires that are culturally popular and patronised in their section of the country.

    If this noble gesture is backed with a legislation that bans the importation of all categories of ready-made clothes on commercial basis, it will make our tailors to perfect and be competitive in production of garments at international standard, thereby ensuring self-reliance in garments as well as conserving foreign exchange. This will attract foreign investors to the sector and bring about financial control, development and strengthening of the sector. The proposed legislation should promote, develop and protect the sector by limiting the importation of textile fabrics that could not be produced in Nigeria now to 70% and production of 30% by Nigerian Textile Manufacturers. The legislation for importation of textile materials should require presidential approval and only from countries willing to invest in Nigeria’s textile sector. Part of the legislation to patronise made-in-Nigeria textiles and garments by all private and public institutions should be extended to school uniforms, sports wears, school house vests, hotel toiletries, bathroom napkins, towels, hospitals cotton wools, bed sheets, mosquito nets and blankets. All these can be sourced locally if the political leadership is willing to walk the talk. As an incentive, black oil allocation (LPFO) should be made directly to textile manufacturers at affordable price.

    I also propose that one spinning and ginning plant be established in each of the six geo-political zones i.e. Funtuwa in the North-West, Gombe in the North-East, Nassarawa in North- Central, Oyo in South-West, Asaba in the South-South and Aba in the South-East to serve as a spring board or back-up project for the success of cotton, textile and garment development projects. This is also to ensure that medium-scale textiles and garment factories spring up across the nation with easy availability of yarn, since spinning industry is highly capital-intensive, and it is the backbone of any textile fabric. This is realisable with the constitution of a new CTG revival committee that will be peopled with real stakeholders who will be responsible for designing the revival, production, marketing and sound planning for the CTG sub sector. A good way to start is for the committee to draw its membership from the Nigerian Textile Technologists Association, Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association, representatives of Garment Manufacturers, Cotton Farmers and Merchants, the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Raw Materials Research Council, among others.

    Finally, there is the need to have a thriving textile Council whose main task is to oversee the registration and accreditation of bodies for the training of textile professionals in the country. A textile competency centre should also be established in the National Research Institute of Chemical Technology (NARICT), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, for the continual training of the professionals. And tertiary institutions that have programmes in textile science, engineering, technology and art should be adequately funded and consulted on issues affecting the industry. If all these are given prompt and adequate attention, I have no doubt in my mind that Nigeria’s ailing textile industry will be revived within a very short time so that it can unleash further opportunities for millions of Nigerians.

     

    • Adhama (MFR, FTTN) is the founder of Adhama Textiles and Garment Industry, Kano.

     

     

  • CBN to resuscitate textile industry

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed on Friday that it is working out modalities to provide funding under the Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF) for the revitalisation of the ailing Cotton Textile and Garment (CTG) industry.

    CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who made this known during a meeting with CTG industry stakeholders in Lagos, hinted that the apex bank will partner with stakeholders in the textile sector to develop a blueprint on the development of the industry.

    He lamented that the industry that previously had over 150 textile mills and employed over  one million people is dominated by imports from Asia.

    He noted that the industry was suffering from huge capital flight as a result of the huge importation worth  millions of dollars of textile products into the country.

    “India alone was estimated  to export textile products worth over $140 million into Nigeria, while imports from China, Indonesia and Taiwan are more likely to be even much higher. The challenge for us as stakeholders is how to prevent further dumping of the product into the country with the implementation of the Common External Tariff,” Emefiele said.

    The CBN boss explained that the relationship between banks and the textile companies was thorny because the former was suddenly left with huge non-performing loans after the bubble burst.

    He said though CBN has no mandate to ban the importation of any product, it recently included textiles as one of the 41 items excluded from foreign exchange sales from the Nigerian forex market.

    On smuggling, he noted that CBN and the textile stakeholders would continue to work with relevant government agencies such as the Nigerian Customs Service and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to combat the menace and ensure that importers pay the right duties for products.

    On the challenges facing the industry, the Chairman of Textile Industry, Mrs. Grace Adereti, lamented that the industry which created over 18 million employment with over 150 vibrant mills in the past, could only boost of no fewer than 20 textile firms, that are managing to stay afloat.

    She said the industry was in coma  because 95 per cent of textile products were imports as 150 containers of textile materials are smuggled into the country in one night on daily basis, even when the country has can produce 1.5 billion metres of cotton.

     

     

  • ‘Textile industry can create 400,000 jobs’

    The National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTW) has said the revival of textile industries  will lead to the employment of over 400,000 workers.

    Its General Secretary, Comrade Issa Aremu, said the revival of the industries would also create several millions of indirect jobs.

    Stating that industrialisation is strategic to reducing the high unemployment rate in the country, he praised President Muhammadu Buhari for commencing plans to revive the textile and garment industry.

    Aremu said it was commendable that Buhari had directed the inauguration of a special committee to look into the revival of the cotton and textile industry.

    He said: “Labour demands that the revival committee be inclusive of all the stakeholders, including the sector’s labour unions and employers’ association.

    “President Buhari will make history like the late Premier of the Northern Region, Ahmadu Bello, if he brings back the industry, which had hitherto employed over 400,000 people. Labour will partner with the government to realise the goal of re-industrialisation of the country.”

    The labour leader said incessant delays and non-payment of salaries of workers had worsened the poverty level in the country.

    He noted that because of the situation, the poor workers had been turned into working beggars.

    Aremu urged all tiers of government and private sector organisations to ensure timely and consistent payment of workers’ salaries.

    According to him, this will improve productivity and national development as well as reduce youth restiveness and other threats to industrial harmony and investment safety.

    He also urged Buhari not to relent in his resolve to address corruption in the country, stating that corruption had inhibited the growth of many companies, emaciated the workers and retarded industrialisation, national productivity and growth.

    Aremu said: “With already frustrated millions of the unemployed and insurgency fuelled by suicidal desperately poor, Nigeria risks mass national revolt of the poor if nothing is done to urgently alleviate the worsening misery of the majority in the face of the opulence of the ruling class.

    “Nigeria certainly has enough for all Nigerians’ needs, but not enough for the greed of the ruling class.

    “Certainly, Nigerian leaders need more than 67 minutes to reflect on how to replace existing corruption agenda with development agenda, mass poverty with mass prosperity, importation and smuggling with domestic industrialisation; dependency with self-reliance and subservience to foreign interest with patriotism and nationalism.”

    He said there could be no development if workers were deprived of their salaries.