Textile makers call for establishment of integrated parks
As Muhammadu Buhari prepares to unveil his blueprint for the manufacturing sector, textile makers in Nigeria have called for the establishment of Integrated Textiles and Garment Parks (ITGPS) across the country.
Paul Jaiyeola Olarewaju, director-general, Nigerian Textile, Garment and Tailoring Employers Association (NATGTEA), said the parks should be sited close to raw materials, markets and infrastructure.
Olarewaju said now is the time to implement the recently formulated textile industry roadmap, which equally stipulates provision of adequate power supply to the proposed industrial parks with captive and coal plants.
He said the policy document is a product of extensive consultation with local stakeholders, investors, the economic management team as well as relevant government ministries and departments.
Real Sector Watch also learnt that the document proposes for patronage from government ministries, departments and agencies that prefer to import textile materials and uniforms from other cheaper markets.
Critical problems facing Nigeria’s textile industry, according to stakeholders, include unbridled influx of cheap textile materials into the country, high cost of alternative power supply, lack of local patronage and poor infrastructure. The ongoing Common External Tariff (CET) across the 15 ECOWAS countries is also a threat to the industry as the regime lifts ban on textiles, which was hitherto contraband in the country.
“CET is taking a lot of market from local producers,” Olarewaju told Real Sector Watch, in an earlier interview.
ODINAKA ANUDU