Browsing: Textiles industry

textiles ethiopia

The fall in consumer demand and closure of retail stores in high income countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the textile and garment manufacturers in Ethiopia.

This is according to a new report by Deloitte that found that the manufacturing sector’s growth declined from 7.7 percent in 2019 to 7.5percent in 2020 mainly attributed to subdued demand in the key textile and garment sub-sector as a result of the closure of retail stores in high income countries.

A telephone survey by Deloitte found that 4,000 female garment workers revealed that four out of ten garment workers on Ethiopia’s flagship industrial park lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The report also found that decline in capacity utilisation pushed firms in the industrial parks to re-invent their business models pivoting to manufacture of personal protective equipment (PPE).

However, a USD 6.5 million fund was set up …

Second hand clothes bales. Africa has been fighting a losing battle in banning second hand clothing which is accused of killing local textile industries. www.theexchange.africa

The second-hand clothes business is huge in Africa raking in billions especially in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda and Benin. 

These five countries are among the world's biggest markets for used clothing sold to the masses due to affordability. So big is the business in Kenya that importers saw a 4.9 per cent increase from US$157.4 million in 2018 to US$164.8 million in 2019. 

Data by the Economic Survey 2020 shows that Kenyan traders imported 185,000 tonnes of used apparel in 2019 alone. That same year, the second-hand clothes industry popularly known as Mitumba contributed KShs12 billion (US$110 million) translating to US$10 million per month.…

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