CPPE: Senate’s Call for Ban on Textile Fabrics Imports Threat to N10 Trillion Garment, Tailoring Industry

Dike Onwumaeze

Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has warned that Senate’s resolution calling for a ban on textile fabric imports can impose substantial collateral costs on Nigeria’s over N10 trillion garment-making and tailoring industry, disrupt critical supply chains, and jeopardise millions of jobs and livelihoods.

The view was expressed yesterday by Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, in a public statement, titled, “Senate’s Textile Import Ban Resolution Risks Doing More Harm Than Good.”

Yusuf called for structural reforms rather than import prohibition.

He stated, “The proposed textile import’s ban risks undermining a vibrant garment and fashion ecosystem that supports millions of Nigerians while generating substantial domestic value addition.

“It could also adversely affect the furniture industry, encourage smuggling and reduce customs revenue.

“The challenge confronting Nigeria’s textile industry is fundamentally one of competitiveness rather than import penetration.”

Yusuf said, “Sustainable revival will require structural reforms that improve productivity, reduce production costs, revive cotton production, expand access to affordable finance and leverage government procurement to stimulate domestic demand.”

He said while the objective of reviving Nigeria’s textile industry was legitimate and commendable, an outright import prohibition was unlikely to achieve that objective.

Yusuf stated that the proposal reflected a narrow view of the textile industry’s challenges and overlooked the extensive linkages within Nigeria’s textile, garment, fashion, furniture, and creative economy value chains. 

He said Nigeria’s fashion, garment-making, and tailoring industry was substantially larger than the textile manufacturing segment that the proposed ban would benefit.

He stated, “Conservatively valued at about N10 trillion, the industry provides livelihoods for an estimated 10 million Nigerians and is one of the country’s most vibrant creative economy sectors.

“Textile fabrics are critical intermediate inputs for this ecosystem. Restricting imports would disrupt production, increase costs, reduce consumer choice and threaten thousands of micro, small and medium enterprises engaged in fashion, tailoring and garment manufacturing.

“The garment industry also generates substantial domestic value addition through design, tailoring, branding, embroidery, merchandising and retailing. In many cases, the local value added exceeds the value of the textile inputs.

“Public policy should, therefore, protect this broader value chain.”

Yusuf also said textile fabrics were equally important inputs for Nigeria’s rapidly growing furniture industry, where they are extensively used in upholstered furniture, office furniture, hotel furnishings, and mattresses.

“A supply disruption would increase production costs and weaken the competitiveness of the sector,” he said.

Yusuf stressed that the decline of Nigeria’s textile industry was primarily the consequence of longstanding structural constraints rather than import competition.

The constraints, according to him, included high energy costs, expensive credit, poor infrastructure, logistics bottlenecks, obsolete technology, smuggling, weak access to long-term finance, and policy inconsistency.

He said, “Textile manufacturing is one of the most energy-intensive industries globally. Operating within a high-cost production environment has severely undermined the competitiveness of local manufacturers.”

Yusuf pointed out that imported textile fabrics already attracted combined import duty and Import Adjustment Tax (IAT) of between 35 and 45 per cent.

“Yet these tariff protections have not restored the industry’s competitiveness because the core problem lies in production economics rather than import penetration,” he said.

He added, “An import ban therefore addresses a symptom while leaving the underlying causes unresolved. Sustainable industry revival requires lower production costs, improved productivity and stronger enforcement of the existing tariff regime.”

CPPE said domestic textile manufacturers currently lacked the capacity to meet the quantity, quality, and diversity of fabrics required by Nigeria’s fashion and furniture industries. 

“So, an outright import ban would create supply shortages, increase production costs and weaken downstream industries that generate significantly more employment than textile manufacturing itself,” it said.

Yusuf said reviving the textile industry would require a comprehensive value-chain approach rather than restrictive trade measures.

He said priority should be given to restoring domestic cotton production, which historically supplied the industry’s raw materials, adding, “Textile manufacturers also require access to affordable long-term finance, modern technology, reliable energy and a more competitive operating environment.”

CPPE recommended a strategic government procurement regime that would require military, paramilitary agencies, schools, and other public institutions to prioritise locally produced textiles and garments.

It urged government to channel part of textile-related import tax revenues into a dedicated fund providing single-digit financing for technology upgrading and industry modernisation.

It also advocated support for cotton farmers through improved seedlings, mechanisation, extension services, security, and guaranteed off-take arrangements.