Low-cost and high-volume apparel exports from China and other Asian countries in the global market are continuously overwhelming Ghana’s exports, according to the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), which recently said inadequate promotion of Ghanaian textiles and Afro-centric fashion in mainstream apparel channels abroad remains a bane for the sector.

Opportunities do exist for the industry in Ghana. These include unexplored niches in the global market like original woven Kente, diaspora market potentials; proximity to global apparel markets; and the existence of bilateral and regional trade agreements, according to a newspaper report in the country.

Currently, the industry employs more than 6,000 Ghanaians and exports more than $30 million on an average annually. Export revenues from the sector in 2020, according to GEPA, stood at $43 million compared to the $137.4 billion worth of apparel and accessories that China alone exported last year to the US market.

But the GEPA, in its 10-year National Export Development Strategy for the non-traditional export sector, says its export revenue for 2021 is projected to reach $52 million by December, according to a newspaper report from Ghana.

The authority is reviewing financial positions of existing apparel companies to roll out a funding package to serve funding requirements of the industry.

GEPA indicated that it will also provide strong capacity building and funding support to upgrade members of the Ghana Association of Apparel Manufacturers to become a self-sustaining national industry. There are about 14 indigenous apparel manufacturers which predominantly export to the US under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA).

By Fibre2Fashion
https://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/low-cost-apparel-exports-from-china-asia-pose-problem-for-ghana-275372-newsdetails.htm