CBN Strengthen Cooperation With Cotton Association To Develop Textile Industry

According to Nigeria Daily News reported on June 6th, the Central Bank of Nigeria will work with the Nigeria National Cotton Association to allow 100 thousand cotton farmers to grow 100 thousand hectares of cotton in 2019. This is part of the measures taken by the bank to develop textile companies operating in the country and to provide employment opportunities for Nigerians.

The plan is contained in the technical cooperation proposal to improve the cotton, clothing and textile sectors of Nigeria, and will be implemented by the textile revival Implementation Committee, announced by the chairman of CBN Godwin Emefiele. The committee is composed of CBN, Kaduna state government, power engineering and Housing Department, Ministry of finance, Ministry of agriculture and rural development, Ministry of industry and trade, and Nigeria customs.

Over the past 20 years, Nigeria's textile sector has faced many challenges, including low cotton production, weak power and transport infrastructure, obsolete production lines, smuggling and counterfeiting, insufficient local funding, high production costs and repeated taxation. The document said that CBN is still discussing with the Nigeria Cotton Association. By planting season in 2020, the planting area will be increased by 100 thousand hectares to 200 thousand hectares. The company said it has obtained improved varieties of cotton seeds, with a minimum guarantee of 2.5 tons per hectare, while Nigeria's average output is only 1.5 tons.

The document also points out that a framework to regulate the smuggling and dumping of textiles to Nigeria will be developed. According to data from the Ministry of industry and trade, in the period of economic prosperity, the industry used to have an average annual net worth of about US $2 billion, and provided about 1 million direct jobs and more than 2 million indirect jobs, accounting for about 60% of the capacity of West African textile industry.