African textile industries overwhelmed by imports

The textile industry in Ghana is sinking under loads of imported Chinese fabrics that mimic the designs of Ghanaian cloth and sell for substantially less. Two well-known Ghanaian companies, Ghana Textile Print and Printex, have shut down spinning and weaving operations that can’t compete with Chinese imports. Instead, according to The Stitch Times, retailers “have abandoned the local cloth and are now selling wax prints from China … the companies have all resorted to the import of gray baft and semi-finished cloth for printing.” The director general of Nigeria’s Textile Manufacturing Association reported that between 1996 and 2006, employment in the textile industry decreased from 250,000 to 30,000. Chinese exports of textiles to South Africa grew from 40 to 80 percent of imported clothing sold in that country.