The Nigerian Textile Industryis approximately 50 years old. Any one who visits Nigeria for the first timewill be impressed by the textiles, its richness, colorful elegance, artisticqualities, style, and texture. Such is their passion for clothes that theNigerians even store the clothes that their grandparents had been wearing. Technologiesused in cloth-making in Nigeria had been developed over the centuries. Earlierduring the 90s, textile industries were at its peak with 124 companies inexistence. Cloth-making is one of the most important technical activities forthe people of Nigeria. But currently, there are only 45 textile companies inexistence. This is a shocking reduction of 64%. Despite the fact that globaltextile trade is on a boom, these industries are gradually diminishing in Nigeria. The reason behind this is the inflow of smuggled foreign textile products intoNigerian markets.
Huge quantities of both new andsecond hand garments from Asian countries are flooded in the Nigerian markets.Domestic markets are facing a major threat from smugglers importing cheaper textilefabrics from other countries and selling them at a price, which is lower thanthe market price of garments manufactured locally. This has led to the closureof 65 textile mills and a layoff of about 1, 50,000 workers during the lastdecade. Data quoted by a Nigerian Garment union states that more than onemillion people, whose job was indirectly related the textile industry likecotton farmers, traders, suppliers etc have lost their source of revenue as aresult of these shutdowns.
Goods are mostly smuggled into Nigeria through Benin Republic. Benin is a main market for Malaysian andChinese goods that are smuggled through sea and land borders. Goods loaded at Benin the previous day will be ready for sale in all the major Nigerian markets earlymorning the very next day. Likewise, there are almost 149 permeable borders in Nigeria which are not controlled by the customs department. In the Northern part of Nigeria, there is a desert, through which goods can be smuggled easily. A few years ago,the Government has placed a ban on the import of textile goods into Nigeria. Later, it banned the exports of all lubricants needed by the Nigerian industries. But,this ban had only been lucrative for the smugglers. The tariff rates werenormal before the ban. Now after the ban, goods are smuggled into Nigeria without any taxes paid, thus making the Governments efforts a failure.
Prices of local materials in Nigeria are higher as the manufacturers use generators to run their machines due to thenon-availability of consistent electric power. Much money is spent on diesel,generators and black oil. This makes the domestic products more expensivemaking way for the entry of foreign products into the market. In countries like China, the production cost is very low due to availability of cheap labor andstable power supply.
Compared with the textileproducts smuggled from China, India and other Asian countries, quality of thegarments produced in Nigeria are much better. Most of the textile productscoming from these countries contain hazardous chemicals that are used forwaxing and printing the clothes. Garments with wax prints are very popular in Africa. These clothes are manufactured specifically for smuggling and hence do not adherewith the quality standards. Many chemicals used in printing these kinds ofclothes are banned by the WTO as harmful to human skin. Most chemicals are usedfor leathers. They are used in clothes to make African prints and are sold at avery cheap price in the market. Despite that the Nigerians know about thehealth hazards in using these garments; still they are ready to compromise withthe quality for the sake of buying cheaper clothes. Though they are aware ofthe chemicals used, and its adverse effects, still they continue to buy themjust because of its low prices. Some people even believe that imported textileshave much better quality than locally manufactured clothes.
The Nigerian Government has taken supportive actions like making the purchase of locally made textile compulsory by Government, army and schools, reduction in the tax rates of imported textile raw materials, tracking of smuggled goods etc. But still; proactive measures are needed for its resurgence. Once, the most flourishing industry of Nigeria, textile; currently is passing through a depressing situation putting the future of millions of its people, and the countrys economy at stake. If the Government takes adequate steps to provide incentives to the people involved in textile business, and also resolve the energy crisis, textile industry can be resurrected. Otherwise, local textile industries in Nigeria would collapse leading to mass unemployment, and a strong, negative influence in the countrys economy.
References:
1) Nigeria: Smugglers Haven for Textile, New Cloth Market, May 2008.
2) http://intercontinentalbankplc.com
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