"Textiles and garments manufacturers eager for a fair playing field\u00a0"

" Textiles and garments manufacturers eager for a fair playing field\u00a0 \r\n\r\n The government of Ghana will soon introduce a textile and garment manufacturing policy. The policy, which seeks to attract and facilitate targeted investments into the industry, is currently in its draft state, and is expected to receive the approval of cabinet later in the year. \r\n\r\n Local manufacturers are optimistic that when implemented, this policy will create a fair playing field for them to compete. \r\n\r\n The National Coordinator for the Association of Ghana Apparel Manufacturers (AGAM), Nana Pokua A.A. Adiamah and Head of Sales and Marketing for Akosombo Industries Limited Petra Aba Asamoah, during a discussion with Kennedy Mornah on Eye on Port said they anticipate that the policy will inject some vibrancy into the sector and help them compete favourably in the African and International market. \r\n\r\n According to them this has become even more crucial with the free African market in sight and the growing demand of \u201cAfrican prints\u201d in the diaspora. \r\n\r\n Currently, the industry is bedevilled by the influx of foreign pirated textiles and garments that come at cheaper prices, running local manufacturers out of business. The industry claims that this is made possible by the significant disparities in production costs between domestic manufacturers and their foreign rivals. \r\n\r\n \u201cWhen it comes to the influx, I think primarily our\u00a0biggest challenge is not just the price points\u00a0but also the fact that largely these textiles\u00a0have our designs and our brands pirated. If there's a design\u00a0like the one I'm wearing and they find that it's\u00a0a fast moving design on the market, one of their local reps will send it, they will copy it and export it here and\u00a0undercut the price that the original ones are going for. We're hoping that the policy would\u00a0capture this also because beyond it just being\u00a0the copying of designs they're also copying our\u00a0trademarks so you would find that their products\u00a0on the markets have registered trademarks of\u00a0ATL, GTP or\u00a0Printex that are not produced here. That's\u00a0a big problem but it's not just a problem because\u00a0they have the designs but they they're\u00a0coming in at a price point that we cannot\u00a0compete with,\u201d the Head of Sales and Marketing for the famous \u201cAkosombo Textiles\u201d lamented.\u00a0 \u00a0 \r\n\r\n While acknowledging certain tax incentives given them over recent years, they lamented that the current costs of utilities and import bill of inputs still render their final products uncompetitive on the market. \r\n\r\n Sadly, according to Mrs. Adiamah and Ms. Asamoah, the quantity of cotton produced in Ghana is woefully inadequate to serve the raw material needs of local manufacturers leading to the heavy reliance on imported raw materials which tends to contribute to the high cost of production.\u00a0 \r\n\r\n \u201cAt the moment we import most of\u00a0our raw materials and when I talk about imports\u00a0you know what that means - high interest rates, duties, clearing charges and others. In addition to that, you have the delays that comes in with in terms of turning around production ,\u201d the National Coordinator for AGAM said. \r\n\r\n They expressed hope that the policy will take care of the entire supply chain and provide lasting remedies so far as the cost-effective sourcing of raw material is concerned.\u00a0 \r\n\r\n Low enforcement of import management laws and competition rights have also served a harder blow to the competitiveness of local manufacturers. However, they are excited about the tax stamp policy that has been introduced by government and appeal that such policies are enforced and sustained. \r\n\r\n \u201cThe gap now\u00a0is the implementation from the ports of entry and\u00a0the ministry assures us that once this policy is\u00a0in place then enforcement will also begin because that's a key point. We're\u00a0not saying that there should be no competition from other markets. What we're asking for is that it should be a level playing field for all of\u00a0us to be able to compete,\u201d Petra Aba Asamoah continued.\u00a0 \r\n\r\n Moreover, given the fast-evolving nature of the textile and apparel manufacturing business, modern machinery and updated technology have become even more necessary. This is not the forte of Ghanaian manufacturing companies according to Mrs. Adiamah who expects the policy to not only propel engagements with private investors but improve access to affordable tailor-made long-term financial packages. \r\n\r\n \u201cOur line of\u00a0production is mass production and you need a factory to do the kind\u00a0of production that is required and so if you looking at one line of production, it should have at least 20 machines and that is just the standard machines\u00a0and I'm not talking about the other specialized\u00a0machines. Because the sector is quite\u00a0capital intensive the private investor may\u00a0not be able to do everything that is required\u00a0to be able to get the business going so access to financing that\u00a0is cheaper, easily accessible and targeted for the manufacturer is the kind\u00a0of finance that we need,\u201d Mrs. Adiamah appealed. \r\n\r\n It is no news that the textile and garment manufacturing sector still remains one of the nation\u2019s anchor sectors for development, contributing an estimated 30% of the GDP of the manufacturing and services industry. With over 10,000 association members and a similar number of non-members, the sector remains a large employer of Ghanaians. \r\n\r\n In 2023, 40 million dollars\u2019 worth of exports were generated by the sector, indicating that despite the abovementioned barriers, the industry still thrives. \r\n\r\n However, considering the 2-billion-dollar worth of spend in Africa on textile products, it is evident that there\u2019s room for Ghanaian manufacturers to compete and grow. The industry is optimistic that the upcoming policy will propel the transformation of the sector. "

"Textiles and garments manufacturers eager for a fair playing field\u00a0"

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