Nigeria losses $325million on textiles, garments ‎annually

 

Federal Government through the Minister of State,Industry,Trade and Investment,Aisha Abubakar has revealed that the cumulative value of textiles and garments imported into Nigeria has been estimated at $4.2billion with government revenue loss estimated at $325million per annum .

The minister also added that CTG sector is also one of the key sectors prioritized in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) die to its strategic importance to employment generation, wealth creation and industrial development .

At the High-Level stakeholders’ retreat on the Cotton ,Textiles and Garments Policy yesterday in Abuja ,the Minister further said the sector policy review is in tandem with Nigeria’s industrialization and diversification initiatives of the government to invest in agriculture and manufacturing sector .

According to her, it is expected to be the major contributors to the economic growth and development.

She said the vision for the Cotton ,textiles and garments industry achieve 15% of national industrial production and 18% market share in the global textiles and garment market .

She said it also contributes 5.5% to Nigeria’s GDP by year 2023 and achieved 15% market penetration in the World textile and garments trade ,targeting West Africa ,ECOWAS, Asia and the Middle East Region .

“It is create direct employment for approximately one million people by year 2023 and also achieve self a sufficiency and contribute 20% share in Nigeria’s total export earnings with Textiles and garments exports targeted to reach UDS2billion by year 2025″,she said.

Also, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry ,Trade and Investment , Mr Edet Sunday Akpan, explained that the National Cotton , Textile and Garment Policy Framework of the ministry has over time required an evaluation in response to the seemingly unresolved challenges facing the stakeholders.

Akpan who was represented by the Director Industrial Development department in the ministry, Adewole Bakare, further explained that these challenges include high cost of production, smuggling and counterfeiting of textiles and garments products.

” Very low demand for cotton by domestic textile mills, tax concessions and waivers ,rehabilitation of ginners ,poor patronage of local textile and apparels among others,” he said

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