Akosombo Textiles faces collapse

Akosombo Textile Limited (ATL), one of the leading fabric companies in the country is on the verge of breaking down as a result of cheap imports from China, Mr Abraham Koomson, the General Secretary of Textile, Garments and Leather Employees Union has warned.

Mr Koomson told journalists at a press conference in Accra last week that apart from the cheap imports from China, workers of the company have not been paid for some time now due to low patronage of their products, which is quality, fashionable but reasonably priced for the Ghanaian and the West African markets.

“The textiles from China and other parts of the world are most of the time inferior, and are sold cheaply on the local market, making it difficult for the local textile products to compete. We however call on government to ensure that fake or pirated products from these countries do not find their way into Ghana,” Mr Koomson stated.

Contributing, the President of Spinnet Textiles and Garment Cluster, Mrs Edwina Assan, has stated that the textile industry, which was once the leader in Ghana’s industrial sector has been declining over the years due to trade liberalisation policies and programmes. These policies, she noted, have made it almost impossible for Ghana’s textile products to compete with cheap imports from Asia.

“Due to these challenges, there has been drastic reduction in production capacity by about 60 per cent, which has also affected employment, level,” she said, calling for the enforcement of best practices and the upgrading of the quality of the industry’s production capacity in an effort to meet international standards.

She further appealed to government to come out with a policy which would make it compulsory for workers, government officials and Members of Parliament to wear made-in Ghana textiles and garments to important functions and also on Mondays in addition to the already endorsed Friday.