Cotton, Textiles and Apparel
The Regional Challenge
The African cotton-textile-apparel (C-T-A) industries in East and Central Africa continue to struggle in supplying global textile and apparel markets. Although a revival in the cotton lint (export) sector is underway due to 140 year high in cotton prices, the regional textile and apparel sectors are yet to reach their full potential. Intra-regional trade in textiles and apparel products is very low and Africa remains a net importer of textiles and apparel in spite of increased capacity in the region. This has mainly been due to protectionist trade policies, non-competiveness of the products produced in the region, and a general lack of quality and consistency in supply that are demanded by global and regional buyers. The challenge for COMPETE is how to change to current situation and build on the emerging opportunities in the C-T-A sector.
COMPETE’s Strategic Approach
In recent years, the C-T-A sector is undergoing a renaissance fueled by global demand for fashion, diversification of sourcing and manufacturing locations around the world, and the growing African middle class who have stimulated demand for stylish, African-made apparel. COMPETE’s approach is to build on this momentum and to support efforts to promote Africa as a reliable sourcing destination for international buyers and Africa as a market for African made apparel and textiles. This effort is further strengthened by linking COMPETE’s support to the C-T-A value chain support to the textile and apparel industries through our AGOA program under the ECA Trade Hub component. This work also compliments our work in the finance sector to enhance financial products available to support the expected increase in business deals.