Nigeria's textile material imports amounted to 261 billion naira

The Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA) said that the country spends 261 billion naira imports of textile raw materials each year.

This led to a decrease in the number of local textile companies from 250 to less than 10.

Jaiyeola Olarewaju, general manager of the Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association, said that the country has delivered billions of naira due to the trend of textiles and the import of cheap and unqualified fabrics from Asian countries.

Olarewaju said that Nigeria’s textile sector is stagnating, which is attributed to the smuggling of cheap textiles, which has resulted in the local Ministry of Industry’s ability to compete and local production costs are higher.

Olarewaju said that various local variations of fabrics from China are produced and exported to West African countries. These fabrics are "made in Nigeria" or affixed with "Made in Nigeria" trademarks.

In dismissing some of the port institutions, Olarewaju said that the government should take a cautious approach on this issue, appropriate policies will protect the interests of textile manufacturers, and inspected textile imports should be inspected.