Nigeria needs N38bn to revive textile sector –Committee

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, FMARD, has estimated that the country needed N37.2 billion to revive the nation’s textile industry.

President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the ministry to look into the resuscitation of the CTG industry in fulfillment of some of his campaign promises, following which it set up a committee for the assignment.
Part of the committee’s recommendations submitted to the Ministry on Wednesday, indicated that the revival of the moribund industry would require the injection of N37.2billion in the sector between the period of 2016-2019 as well as the exploitation of the N100 billion CTG fund domiciled with the Bank of Industry.
The Committee pointed out that the proposed fund would support as working capital of operational textile mills and resuscitation of about 80 closed mills as well as 23 closed ginneries.

The fund would also support all sections of the cotton, textile and garment sector. The Committee Chairman, Engr Damilola Eniayeju, who disclosed this while submitting its report and recommendations on the resuscitation of the CTG industry, said that the Committee proposed that fiscal incentives should be given to the sector rather than financial resources.

The committee recommended that deliberate effort should be employed by both federal and state government to promote local fabrics.

They recommended that Nigeria can promote local fabrics through uniforms for defense, schools and private sectors to enable the country have sense of belonging like what is being done in the rice sector and make textile sector boom.

He identified some of the challenge confronting the industry to including smuggling and dumping of foreign textile materials from Asian country, lack of electricity supply, poor access to water among others. This he said has led to the reduction in the number of textile industry from 182 in the 80s to 34 industries that is now running.

The committee also called for financial support from the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) to enable it deploy Biotechnology Cotton (BT COTTON) at confined fields at trial level while the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) introgress BT protein in existing varieties as well as produce haploid cotton.

It also further recommended that on seed cotton marketing, Agriculture Ministry, Ministry of Trade and Investment should work closely to establish the Cotton Corporation of Nigeria to revive cotton production and competitiveness.