Government urged to set high standards on imported textile inputs

SPINnet Textile and Garment Cluster, an Association of small scale local textile manufacturers, on Wednesday held an advocacy workshop on the need to set high standards on imported inputs.

This, the Association explained would reduce the unfair competition that cheap and inferior imported materials bring into the local textile and garment industry.

The Advocacy action, which is being sponsored by the Business Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC), is to create a platform for SPINnet members and other stakeholders to dialogue on the issue of minimum standards and its effect on the local textile industry.

Mrs Edwina Assan, President of SPINnet, noted that inputs such as dyes used for raw materials, chemicals and machinery that are imported for the industry were of low quality. she added that importers at the moment were not under any obligation to bring in a particular shade of dyes for repeat orders.

“There should be a waiver on imported textile and garment production raw materials, which would be monitored to benefit producers”.

According to her, taxes on imported finished foreign textiles should be prohibitive so that local products would be patronized, in addition to a clamp down on textile smuggling.

Mrs Assan said government should encourage investors to increase investment in the sector where industries would be set up to produce cotton, ginning, spinning and weaving for local manufacturers.

She said the textile industry, which used to employ about 25,000 people in the last two decades, could now boast of only four factories, providing jobs for less than 3000 Ghanaians.

Mrs Assan appealed to government to identify and support a number of companies that had the potential to become medium companies to create more employment opportunities for people.

Participants at the workshop also stressed on the need for government to reduce the cost of textile production locally, which they believed was a major reason for the high price for which locally manufactured materials were sold.

According to them, it would prevent people from buying imported inferior fabrics, which were sold at cheaper prices.