Developments In The Textiles Industry 

NEWS COMMENTARY ON DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TEXTILES INDUSTRY AND CALLS FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF THE NATIONAL ANTI-PIRACY TASK FORCE TO HELP CONTROL PIRACY AND SMUGGLING OF TEXTILES INTO THE COUNTRY

Moves by the Trade and Industry Ministry to enforce import restrictions on textiles into the country from September this year is heartwarming and couldn't have come at a better time. The plan is part of measures aimed at bringing sanity into the sector and ensures that local textiles producers survive in the highly competitive market. Addressing the media after a marathon meeting with players in the textiles industry and the leadership of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union, ICU of the TUC, the Sector Minister, Alan Kyeremanteng explained that apart from the government losing revenue due to the importation of fake textiles, the practice is also undermining the sustainability of the local textiles sector. The Minister explained that the transitional period of three months was to enable those engaged in the business to clear their stock adding that after the three months any textiles found on the market would have a tax stamp and also should have entered the country through the import restricted channel that would be introduced. The fact is, increased importation of pirated textile from China and other countries is collapsing the local textiles industry and threatening the jobs of the more than three thousand direct employees in the sector.  Most importers of textiles pirate the designs and logo of local textiles companies thereby infringing on their intellectual property. A number of them evade tax which made their textiles cheaper than the locally produced ones. As a result many people patronized the pirated textiles at the expense of the local ones whose prices are higher because of the tax obligations. Because of the unfair competition from the pirated textiles, most of the local companies are compelled to operate far below their capacity.  It is in the light of this that a group calling itself the coalition of textiles workers recently took to the streets to protest the influx into the country of pirated textiles and demanded the seizure and destruction of the illegal cloths.

There is no gain saying the fact that the crave for African wear by many Ghanaians has shot up the demand for textiles. This follows the introduction of pragmatic policies like the Friday wear and buy made in Ghana goods by successive governments. We need to commend the Ghana Standards Authority for its recent efforts to ensure improved standards in the textiles industry. Indeed the textiles and garment sector is a big economic area for Ghana. We must therefore encourage more investments into the sector. That is why government must do all within its power to block the entry points for the smuggling into the country of cheap pirated textiles. It is good the Ministry of Trade and Industry has now agreed to allow the National Anti-Piracy Task Force on pirated textiles access into the markets to confiscate illegal prints.  It is our hope that the local textile companies will cooperate with the Task Force by coming on board to make the exercise worthwhile.  Truth be told, the refusal by the textile companies to participate in the work of the National Anti-Piracy Task Force has made it inactive. Now that Government has begun offering the Textiles Companies stimulus packages, it is hoped things will improve. The introduction of the Tax Stamp regime on local textiles will help ensure physical variation and easy identification of pirated textiles. This makes it imperative to have teams of the National Anti-Piracy Task Force in the border regions and entry points to check the entry of illegal textiles into the country. We need to support the local textiles manufacturers to become more competitive. This is a national obligation.

BY: JUSTICE MINGLE, A JOURNALIST.
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