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CBN invests over N120bn on cotton value chain - VANGUARD
As over 320,000 farmers receive finance from 2018-2020
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By Gabriel Ewepu – Abuja
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Thursday, disclosed of investing over N120 billion on the cotton value chain and projected over 300, 000 metric tonnes of seed cotton by end of 2020.
This was made known by the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, CBN, Edward Adamu, at the Cotton, Textile and Garments, CTG, Stakeholders Meeting tagged ‘Cotton Harvest 2020 Season’. According to Adamu, the Apex bank’s intervention is to eradicate smuggling and dumping of textile goods in Nigeria and also to resuscitate and return the lost glory of the cotton textile and garment industry.
He also recalled the booming days of the industry that sustained the economy with massive job creation, which in the 1970’s and early 1980s, Nigeria was home to Africa’s largest textile industry, with over 180 textile mills in operations, which employed close to over 450,000 people. “By today, if we had nurtured and encouraged the textile industry, that sector will be employing millions.â€
He also mentioned that the textile industry at that time, was the largest employer of labour in Nigeria after the public sector, contributing over 25 per cent of the workforce in the manufacturing sector, which it supported the clothing needs of the Nigerian populace, the markets were filled with locally produced textiles from companies such as United Textiles in Kaduna, Supertex Limited, Afprint, International Textile Industry (I.T.I), Texlon, Aba Textiles, Asaba Textile Mills Ltd, Enpee and Aswani Mills amongst several others.
He said: The Bank’s interventions in Cotton Textile and Garment sector are designed to resuscitate and return the Textile Industries back to its glorious days, creating jobs, diversification of Nigeria’s economy, and achieving self-sufficiency in cotton production.
“Minimize and eradicate smuggling and dumping of textile goods and facilitate foreign reserve accretion. “The Bank’s intervention in the Cotton, Textile and Garments (CTG) industry is in full swing and since the inception of the CTG intervention, huge progress has been made, some of which include: Over N120bn invested across CTG value chain; Over 320,000 farmers financed between 2018-2020; Expected output for seed cotton in 2020 is projected to be over 300,000 metric tons.
“This is expected to enhance the production capacity of the ginneries in producing over 102,000 metric tons of cotton lint and this is expected to meet and surpass the cotton lint requirement of our Textile Industries. “Currently our domestic demand for cotton is met through local production, thereby halting the importation of cotton for the textile industry, Increase in capacity utlisation of ginneries as the ginneries now operate throughout the year, compared to six (6) months in recent past; 19 ginneries resuscitated across the country, and more are expected to join this year “Enhanced drive toward anti-smuggling yielding result with over 15 textile smugglers accounts frozen across the country.
A lot of progress has been made, but at the same time more needs to be done to ensure that we build an inclusive economy that supports domestic production of goods and services while offering job opportunities to teeming Nigerians.â€
He added that the assignment was President Muhammadu Buhari’s order to give life to the industry, because of his passion and commitment to the nation’s agricultural sector revolution due to its role in ensuring food security, creating jobs, and stabilizing the Nigerian economy.
In a presentation, the Director, Development Finance, CBN, Yusuf Yila, during a power-point presentation tagged ‘Textile Aspiration to Return to the Glory Days 2019-2025’, disclosed that cotton seeds farming is now in full gear, ginneries working at over 90 per capacity, textile industries have sufficient raw material (Cotton Lint), price stability of cotton lint, non-importation of cotton lint.
Yila said CBN revival of the CTG sector has achieved a multiplier impact has Enhanced drive toward anti-smuggling yielding result, which over 15 textile smugglers accounts were frozen, the capacity of ginneries increased in 2019, Cotton lint produced outweigh the textile annual requirement despite Covid 19, Cotton importation is at Zero per cent in 2019, infrastructure and capacity building, On economic impacts he said N140 billion invested in the CTG in the last three years; Financing- between 2018-2020 over 340,000 farmers engaged and earned over N31.6bn wealth created, over 12 ginneries were funded and the Bank expects to do more, and over 450,000 employment generated under CTG intervention.
According Yila smuggling of textile has reduced drastically but Nigeria is still the biggest market for (Bangladesh, Turkey, China, and India) as the importation of runs into billions of dollars, but there is an ongoing effort on textile anti-smuggling, which needs to be strengthened through deeper collaboration with Nigeria Customs Service. He also said investment focus is on spinning, weaving, knitting, fabric processing, finishing, and garment production by tailors or garment factories He said: “We have completed phase one and phase two.
We are where we are working with the textiles through the Bank of Industry to see how we can retool them and take the ginneries to the textile. “CBN is really a collaboration with all the agencies and the Customs. The biggest challenge is people smuggling textiles and garments. As you are aware a lot of them their accounts have been blocked. As restitution, we are telling them to go patronize the local textile factories.
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