As in other African countries, the Ghanaian textile and apparel sector has had to contend with an influx of cheap Chinese textile and clothing through illegal means, which has affected the local industry to a great extent.
The members of the Textile, Garment and Leather Employees' Union of Ghana Federation of Labour are up in arms and are pressurizing the government to put a stop to these illegal activities, before the whole textile sector grinds to a halt.
The fears of the trade unions are really genuine. In its hey days in the 1970's, the sector used to employ around 25,000 workers, which has now trickled down to just about 3,000 workers, while at the same time the state also looses over GH¢40million as revenue annually.
The domestic industry is not able to withstand the competitive pricing of the illegal Chinese imports as they have to face challenges of high cost of raw material, high interest rates, no export subsidy and high cost of electricity in the country.
To put an end to these illegal imports, the Union has suggested setting up of a task force compromising representatives of the security agencies, Ghana Standard Board, the local manufacturers and the Trade Union to conduct periodic checks.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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