NTMA highlights problems of Nigerian textile industry

30 Mar '20

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

Lack of sufficient electricity supply, counterfeiting and smuggling are some of the biggest problems affecting the Nigerian textile industry, which cannot revive unless the government supports the it using a holistic approach, according to Nigerian Textiles Manufacturers Association (NTMA) president Folorunsho Daniyan, who was elected recently.

A major problem for the sector is the cost of energy: cost of gas for those in the south and that of black oil for those in the north that are yet to be connected to the gas pipeline. Government recently approved gas tariff for textiles but that is yet to be implemented, he said.

If smuggling is reduced by 20 per cent, about 40 textile firms will come back into operation, he was quoted as saying by Nigerian media reports.

He advocated setting up of a textile task force to combat smuggling as was recently done in Ghana. A minimum value should be fixed for textiles coming into Nigeria, as it is ridiculous for textiles, most of which are unsafe for skin, to sell at N700, he said.

Daniyan is head of corporate affairs at the United Nigeria Textiles Limited (UNTL), the biggest textiles group in Nigeria.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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