ADDIS ABABA – Various efforts are being exerted to improve capacity and to facilitate market access aimed at creating competitive local textile and garment industries in the country, Ethiopian Textile Industry Development Institute disclosed.
The institute has been endeavoring to overcome shortcomings including workers’ skill gap, management problems , input shortage, and delay of under construction industries via capacitating them to improve product quality and quantity, Institute Communication Director Bantihun Gessesse told The Ethiopian Herald.
Taking international experiences as a lesson, the institute in partner with World Bank and UNIDO has been organizing various trainings for textile workers and managers drawn from sales, knitting, cotton development, and garment and finishing units on how to use technologies and improve skills, he said.
It also works with Indian experts to share experience in the area. The institute would strengthen its human resource development activities to upgrade the skills of workers to shore up the sector productivity, as to him.
Accordingly, the assessment conducted by the institute indicated that the skills of the workers have been improved through time. However a lot remain to be done to achieve more in the area as the country has a wide potential in the textile industry, he noted. In 2018, the country has cultivated about 77,000 hectare lands and produced 58,000 tons of lint cotton which is beyond the national demand, he said, adding that currently the nation is free from input shortage.
Today the country has about 112 operational small and medium scale local textile and garment industries. And the institute is endeavoring to strengthen them by evaluating quality of products through its physical, chemical and environmental labs, as to Bantihun.
It also works to expand market linkage. However, the industries are still focus on local markets than producing huge volume of products and exporting to foreign markets, he stated.
Today, few industries are exporting to Europe and US market. Similarly, the industries are not exploiting the AGOA market, he underlined.
However, the textile industry in general is expanding in the country. And the local private owners ought to participate and exploit the sector plenty of suitable resources including labor, input and environment, he urged.
Accordingly, some 30 local industries have generated 36.2 million USD over the past six months from thread, textile, garment and traditional garment products sale respectively. The institute was planned to secure some 46.3 million USD in the specified period despite the 78 percent achievement due to low accomplishment of industries, workers’ inefficiency and power fluctuation among others, according to the Director.
The Ethiopian Herald March 5, 2019
BY YOHANES JEMANEH
