Home

About RATES

Partners Fund

Newsletters

Photo Galleries

Useful Links

Cotton Program > Highlights

Regional Cotton and Textile Executive Summit Held

The inaugural Regional Cotton and Textile Executive Summit was held in Nairobi, Kenya on April 27th-28th, 2005 with the theme: "The Future Belongs to the Organized".

The summit, which attracted over 150 delegates from 20 African countries, was rated by delegates as one of the most well organized and successful meetings in the textile industry.

The event was organized by RATES in collaboration and in partnership with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) the East and Central Africa Competitiveness Hub and the textile sector and apparel manufacturers of Kenya. The summit content covered the 'fiber to fabric' value chain with the aim of creating a business forum that will promote and develop the concept of a regional trade community and networking structure that will stimulate profitability and growth in trade throughout the region. It would also address key policy issues and post MFA challenges, generate information exchange, promote investment, and create international alliances and affiliations. For an added attraction and break form the formal discussions, the Exporting Processing Zones Authority of Kenya, along with RATES, sponsored a welcome dinner and fashion show highlighting a wide array of regional fabrics and designers.

During the summit, a number of key issues emerged that will significantly impact on the future of the region's cotton textile industry. The Post-ATC is having a profound impact on international trade in textiles and apparel and the question is whether AGOA producers will be able to retain market share as production shifts. There were fears among the participants that he market share of a number of suppliers in sub-Saharan Africa will decline and it was suggested that 'niche' market production should be explored more vigorously. Everyone expects that China will become "the supplier of choice" for most U.S. importers because of its ability to make almost any type of textile or apparel product, at any quality level, and at a competitive price. Delegates were reminded that the textile-specific safeguard in China's WTO Accession Protocol was there to be used, and member countries should not hesitate to invoke the provisions if necessary. Perhaps the most critical challenge that was identified at the summit was the negative impact of the expiration of the third-country fabric sourcing under AGOA. Many delegates related that the African textile industry does not currently have the capacity to produce the full range of yarns and fabrics (and at competitive prices) that will be necessary to maintain anywhere near the current level of apparel exports to the US - a major and serious contraction in African apparel exports was the likely result, with the attendant negative consequences on jobs, livelihoods, economies etc. With the African textile & apparel industries being so vulnerable to increased competition from China, it would be extremely unlikely that Africa could attract the investment necessary to expand and improve its capacity and to provide price-competitive yarns/fabrics by September 30th, 2007. Delegates stressed that more time was needed for the industry to become more competitive with Asian and other producers, and that the development of an integrated textile and apparel industry in Sub-Saharan Africa - from growing cotton to producing apparel for export - was of paramount importance. However, investment uncertainties and in particular the lack of access to affordable finance has negated any real advances in this direction. Delegates agreed that the region should formulate a collective position on these issues and that there was a serious need to ensure that textiles and apparel, including adjusting to the post-ATC world, continue to be prominent on the AGOA Forum Agenda. All agreed that individual countries within the region could no longer act in isolation and remain fragmented in the face of current and future global challenges and that a regional integration policy had to be adopted with some urgency. The delegates unanimously resolved to form that a regional trade federation (or such other descriptive name that may be adopted) to increase competitiveness in the global post-quota environment, address key policy issues, build a platform for reducing constraints in regional trade, exchange information, collect market data, share regional expertise, promote a regional supply chain and to build partnerships, alliances and networks. This initiative was fully endorsed by the COMESA and EAC representatives present. RATES agreed to act as the initial secretariat for the new "virtual" entity and an interim steering committee will be set up to immediately start building cooperation, interaction and linkages within the region and to start addressing the key issues that arose from the summit. For a complete summary of the summit and program, and recommendations, please log on to www.cottonafrica.com for details.