According to a new report, faced with Asian competition following the global elimination of quotas, a number of Sub‑Saharan African textile and clothing firms are trying to stay afloat by investing in new factories.

News of the investments will help to bolster confidence in an industry whose fortunes have suffered a dramatic reversal over the last 18 months. Falling exports in 2005 and in the first few months of 2006 have led to widespread factory closures and job losses and this trend shows no immediate signs of changing, according to the report by Textile Outlook International..

This decline is in stark contrast to figures for 2000‑04 — which was a period of optimism and growth. Between 2000 and 2003 clothing shipments from Sub-Saharan Africa to the USA rose in volume terms by an average of 34% a year. But in 2004 growth slowed to 10%, and in 2005 exports to the USA from the region actually fell by 14%. Worse news came in January‑March 2006 when shipments were down by over 22% compared with the equivalent period in 2005.

But the world market changed with the entry of China to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in late 2001, and the elimination of quotas at the end of 2004. Sub-Saharan African clothing makers still enjoy duty-free access to the US market but this has proved insufficient to maintain their competitiveness in the face of intense competition from Asia.