Textile factory shutdown makes 1,000 more jobless

Atlantic Textile Mills, one of the major producers of African wax, has closed its factory. About 1,000 have workers have lost their jobs. In the last three years, over 33 textile mills across the country have closed down due to un-favourable business conditions.

The closure of the Atlantic Textile Mills is believed to be because of persistent infrastructural problems facing the textile industry in the country. Ismail Bello, Assistant General Secretary of the National Union of Textile and Garment Workers of Nigeria, said the company had the full capacity to employ 2,000 workers, but it is currently sending over 1,000 people into the labour market. He said the Government should address the energy problem urgently and take immediate steps to halt the unabated rise in diesel price as most industries are generator-driven. He urged the modernization of plants to improve quality and enhance international competitiveness. According to textile business experts the main reason for the downtrend in the textile sector is because of the Asian countries, which produce the same material which we produce, put our logo and sell here at cheaper price. The activities of the Asian countries’ manufacturers were a major cause of the closure of the factories.

The textile manufacturers have borrowed money at high interest rates to run their factories and at the same time been faced with stiff competition from smuggled textile products. In Nigeria the cost of production is the highest in the world. Players in the industry no longer have control over the local market and they cannot easily access the external market.