HARARE: The Cotton-to-Clothing (C2C)
Export Strategy launched by Zimbabwe in 2014 to boost domestic production and
promote export of textiles and garments is still on course despite the
devastating drought that hit the country in 2015/16, an official said Monday.The
strategy, which aims to increase cotton production three-fold by 2019, revive
the cotton and textile industry and help boost the country''s economic growth,
was developed by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce with support from the
International Center for Trade (ICT), a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
It was funded by the European
Union (EU) under
the EU-Africa Partnership on Cotton, and the African, Caribbean and Pacific
Group of States (ACP) with international and regional development partners
expressing interest in financing and supporting activities elaborated in the
strategy''s plans of action.ICT spokesperson Jarle Hetland told Xinhua Monday
that while they were still hoping to see a three-fold increase in cotton
production by 2019, the project had unfortunately not been progressing as fast
as they had hoped.
"There are several reasons for this, including drought, which has severely
affected cotton growers, but also the related limited investment in
productivity.However, the implementation of the project carried out by ITC and
COMESA is on track and is helping ensure that the sector is ready to grow and
scale up its activities," he added.Seed cotton production decreased by 23
percent to around 80,000 tons in 2015/16 following the severe drought that hits
the whole of Southern Africa.
More than 100 stakeholders from the Cotton-to-Clothing sector, including
representatives of the public sector, rural communities, small and medium-sized
enterprises and civil society, were involved in defining a series of market-led
development priorities to support the strategy.The C2C strategy was launched as
a part of the EU-funded regional "Coordination of African Regional Cotton
Sector Strategy" led by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
ITC was later invited by COMESA to assist Zimbabwe in the implementation of
some aspects of the strategy, in particular training activities, market
intelligence tools and market linkages, institutional capacity building to
support private sector and carry out an industry wide audit for future business
development in the COMESA Free Trade Area.The implementation of the strategy is
still on course. The government working with the private sector is making all
efforts to ensure that the activities identified are implemented," Hetland
said.
He said part of the effort was being led by a local textile group and the
Association for Cotton Value Adders of Zimbabwe.They are receiving support from
the ministry on continued implementation of the strategy. In addition, what
would be of benefit to the Zimbabwean cotton industry is agreement on the
proposed strategic partnership with Cotton South Africa and other regional
partners," he said.
The
strategy has identified key markets in Africa, Asia and Europe where the value,
diversity and attractiveness of ''Made in Zimbabwe'' products has not yet been
tapped.
It is hoped that the strategy will deliver a unifying roadmap with an ambitious
set of targets, including a steep increase in yields to 1,200 kilograms per
hectare that will benefit 250,000 smallholder farmers and increase production
of cotton lint to 450,000 tons per year.Zimbabwe produced about 150,000 tons in
2013 at an average 269 kg per hectare.A substantial increase in cotton
production to around 210,000 tons in the 2016/17 marketing year has been
forecast on the back of the government''s inputs support program to revive
cotton production and the support given by ginners and merchants through
contract farming schemes with smallholder farmers.Export of textiles and
garments is expected to reach 7.5 million U.S. dollars and set out a roadmap to
help the country regain its leadership in quality and value addition in the C2C
sector by 2019, when the implementation of the strategy is expected to be
complete.The sector extends from smallholder farming which contributes to the
livelihoods of more than 1 million Zimbabweans to capital-intensive sub-sectors
such as spinning and textiles that have played an integral role in the
country''s industrialization.
It also has important food-security implications with cottonseed processing
by-products used as animal feed, while cottonseed oil is used for human
consumption.Zimbabwe''s clothing and textile industry was once one of the
country''s biggest employers with about 24,000 workers, but problems such as
inadequate capital, power shortages, high labor costs and obsolete machinery
have led many companies to operate at below 10 percent of their capacity.
The
labor force has also declined to less than 4,000 because of company closures
which affected ginners, spinners, knitters and weavers, dye houses, clothing
companies and retailers as some were either placed under judicial management or
liquidated.As a result, Zimbabwe is currently exporting most of its cotton lint
without adding any value to it, while cheap imports from Asia are flooding the
market. The local clothing industry is also only able to meet about 25 percent
of local demand.
Source: New Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Tuesday, 08 August 2017