The Federal Government of Nigeria aspires to see tremendous growth in the country’s textile and garment industry, according to Mr. Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Trade and Investment.
Addressing the valedictory function of the workshop on the mid-term evaluation of Nigeria’s Cotton, Textile and Garment Industry in Abuja, the Minister said the Government plans to increase the share of Nigerian textiles and apparels in the domestic market from the current 12 percent to 25 percent by 2020.
The Ministry of Trade and Investment is working with the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) to decrease the instances of dumping of sub-standard goods, including textiles and apparels, into the country, he said.
The Minister said the Government expects the textile and apparel sector to create more than 60,000 new employment opportunities by 2020. For the purpose, efforts are being made to revive the entire textile value chain, he added.
The Government has included the textile sector in the Industrial Revolution Plan and it is striving to boost cotton production. It is also supporting existing companies to expand their current operations, while attracting leading foreign brands to set up manufacturing units in the country, he said.
The Minister said Nigeria’s textile and clothing sector has a strong potential to grow due to availability of cotton, knowledge of the sector, and the country’s large market-size represented by over 167 million inhabitants, who provide a natural market for textiles and apparels.
Moreover, there is also scope to export Nigerian textiles and apparels to other markets, especially to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), he said.
