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Zimbabwe's firm sacks 200 as S Africa scraps trade pact
14 Nov '18
2 min read
Zimbabwe’s apparel company Archer Clothing is witnessing fears of significant job losses after South Africa decided to scrap a 54-year-old bilateral trade agreement giving Zimbabwean firms preferential access to Africa’s biggest economy. Pretoria gave Harare 12 months notice in November last year of its intention to terminate the 1964 pact.
The agreement allowed relaxed rules of origin of single transformation, enabling clothing and textiles firms to use imported fabrics from Asia to produce for the South African market.
Archer Clothing in Bulawayo, a success story in the local textiles industry that had created 1,400 jobs in the past three years, recently laid off 200 workers as it foresees restricted access to the South African market, according to media reports in Zimbabwe.
According to the ‘double transformation’ rules governing the South African Development Community (SADC) Trade Protocol, fabric should be from within the region. While fabric is readily available from mills in Mauritius, Madagascar, Tanzania, Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe, those can only be used to manufacture particular clothing items like work and denim wear.
As the full range of fabrics are not available, mainly for fashion wear, the desired intra-region trade cannot happen, according to Jeremy Youmans, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Clothing Manufacturers Association who is also the group finance director at Paramount Garments, that has a stake in Archer Clothing.
Harare has been pushing for a meeting with Pretoria over the issue. (DS)
The agreement allowed relaxed rules of origin of single transformation, enabling clothing and textiles firms to use imported fabrics from Asia to produce for the South African market.
Archer Clothing in Bulawayo, a success story in the local textiles industry that had created 1,400 jobs in the past three years, recently laid off 200 workers as it foresees restricted access to the South African market, according to media reports in Zimbabwe.
According to the ‘double transformation’ rules governing the South African Development Community (SADC) Trade Protocol, fabric should be from within the region. While fabric is readily available from mills in Mauritius, Madagascar, Tanzania, Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe, those can only be used to manufacture particular clothing items like work and denim wear.
As the full range of fabrics are not available, mainly for fashion wear, the desired intra-region trade cannot happen, according to Jeremy Youmans, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Clothing Manufacturers Association who is also the group finance director at Paramount Garments, that has a stake in Archer Clothing.
Harare has been pushing for a meeting with Pretoria over the issue. (DS)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India
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