Second Hand Clothes Collapsing Textile Industry

The dumping of second hand cloths and cheap textile on the Ghanaian market has been identified as some of the numerous factors that are collapsing the textile industry in Ghana.

Other factors include high taxes, cost of production and the use of obsolete machines.

The Executive director of the Association of Ghanaian Industry (AGI), Mr. Andrew Lawson said this in an interview with the Business Chronicle in Accra.

According to him, the dumping of these products have reduced the already limited market in the textile industry.

"They are cheaper so it is preferred than the locally manufactured ones".

In his view, the panacea to the problem is the creation of an anti-dumping Authority that would monitor the importation of certain goods such as second hand cloths and determining those that the dumping criteria and ban them from being imported.

"The authority would also advise government on when to institute anti-dumping and other countervailing measures", he added.

Smuggling of textiles from the West African sub-region and sold in the country at cheaper prices was also considered as a contributory factor to the collapsing of the industry.

He also advised government to institute measures to halt smuggling of cheap textile from both the sub-region and outside.

Touching on Made in Ghana Goods, he said that the development experience of countries like South Korea has shown that a period of high and sustained demand for locally produced goods before the eventual switch to export-substitution industrialization. These allowed Korean industries to learn by doing, improve efficiency and thus produce goods at international competitive prices.

He said attempt to promote Made in Ghana goods and help to create such a context for the country's own industrial revolution have met with little and often symbolic success, such as the recent efforts to get public officials to wear traditional attire on Fridays.

"We believe a broader and more determined effort that go beyond traditional attire is required", the director noted.

In this respect, the executive director with support from AGI has proposed the institution of a Made in Ghana Day (MGD) to be celebrated 14, February each year. He said with the support from the government, media and event organizers the AGI would urge Ghanaians to exchange only Made in Ghana goods as gifts on that day.

"We wish this to be a private-public partnership and thus propose a working committee of government and business to determine the modalities for such a national day".

The textile industry has for some time now has lost about 60% of its workforce although the Presidential Special Initiative on textiles and cotton has been in operational for some time now.

It is also believed that about 30 textile companies in the country have folded up due to high cost of production and the dumping of cheap textiles from abroad.