CBN targets 2020 for zero importation of textile materials



In its effort to attain self sufficiency in cotton production, the Central Bank of Nigeria has set a target od 2020 ro end importation of textile materials.
The Governor Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele who disclosed this during a meeting with service chiefs and chief executives of Uniformed Service in Nigeria said Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) sector has the capacity to transform Nigeria’s rural economy and revive the textile and garment industries by creating over 2 million jobs, improve internal revenue across three tiers of government.
Emefiele said that the initiative would go a long way to reduce $4.0 billion import bill incurred annually on textile and apparel, safeguard and earn foreign exchange and ultimately accelerate industrial development by making Nigeria a global player in the textile and apparel sector.
He said that CBN had been holding meeting with stakeholders from CTG towards reviving Nigeria textile sector and they have analysed the huge potentials that exist in the sector and identified the challenges militating against its contribution to the growth and development of the country.
He said CTG sector faced with systemic challenges which hampered and diminished its role as the leading employer of labour, thereby preventing its contribution to the Nigeria’s Gross domestic Products.
He recalled that in the 1970s and early 1980s, Nigeria was home to Africa’s Largest textile industry, with over 180 textile mills in operations which employed close to over 450,000 people and contributing over 25 per cent of the workforce in the manufacturing sector.
Speaking further he said ” today most of the factories have all stopped operations as only 25 textile factories are operating at bellow 20 per cent of their production capacities and the workforce in Nigeria’s textile industry stands at less than 20,000 people.
To resolved the Nigeria struggling CTG sector,he said there was need to support local manufacturers of textile through patronage by MDAs as entrenched in Executive order 003.
He said full compliance with this order would help in addressing the pressure on our foreign reserves through demand for forex for importation of textile and clothing material.
He stated that apex bank interactions with stakeholders revealed that MDAs have not made any significant order for uniforms or clothing materials from Nigerian textile manufacturers and garment companies, adding that governments efforts at resuscitating the textile industry will not be actualised if they are not supported through local patronage among other incentives.
He, however, said that local textile factories are carrying huge quantities of unsold stock while garment factories are idle due to lack of local patronage.
He said our model in achieving this presidential directive is to facilitate long term contracts of five years or more with our textile and garment factories to produce uniforms for our armed forces and under form services using local fabrics and textile materials.

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