The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Shandong Ruyi International Fashion Industry have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a $2 billion investment in the nation’s cotton sub-sector with a view to enhancing productivity across its value chains.
According to available information provided by the ministry, the deal was one of the 13 entered into by the Federal Government with foreign investors at the recently concluded conference in Beijing, China.
Specifically, the MoU would enable the government to establish a cotton value chain industry spanning cotton growing to ginning, spinning, textile manufacture and garment production.
To actualise the objectives of the partnership, new cotton factories are expected to built in Katsina, Kano, Abia and Lagos states and the investments will involve aggregation and off-take of cotton from farmers for ginning, spinning and weaving.
In addition, the MoU also provides for the manufacturing of at least 300 million metres of African print, estimated to meet about 20 percent of West Africa market’s demand; and production of cotton and denim garments for local consumption and export.
The latest pact is expected to increase substantially the nation’s textile productive capacity following the challenges operators had contended with over the years, particularly poor yield of cotton, erratic electricity and smuggling, that had brought most of the cotton farms and textile factories into state of near-paralysis.
For instance, official statistics indicated that between 1980 and 2016, about 145 companies operating in the textile sector had collapsed due to the disenabling environment
It would be recalled that the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, had said recently that government was appreciated the importance of the sector to the economy, especially its job creation potential, hence the dedications of three out of the six special economic zones to be created this year to textile and garment sector.
The minister assured that government was working hard to support the industry through massive investment in infrastructure and other critical areas that would reduce the price of cotton.
