Sub-Saharan African Textile and Apparel Inputs

320 Pages·2009·5.5 MB·English

United States International Trade Commission
Sub-Saharan African
Textile and Apparel
Inputs: Potential for
Competitive
Production

Investigation No. 332-502
USITC Publication 4078
May 2009
U.S. International Trade Commission
COMMISSIONERS

Shara L. Aranoff, Chairman
Daniel R. Pearson, Vice Chairman
Deanna Tanner Okun
Charlotte R. Lane
Irving A. Williamson
Dean A. Pinkert
Robert A. Rogowsky
Director of Operations
Karen Laney-Cummings
Director, Office of Industries
Address all communications to
Secretary to the Commission
United States International Trade Commission
Washington, DC 20436
U.S. International Trade Commission
Washington, DC 20436
www.usitc.gov
Sub-Saharan African Textile and Apparel
Inputs: Potential for Competitive
Production

Investigation No. 332-502
Publication 4078 May 2009
Project Leaders
Kimberlie Freund, Project Leader
[email protected]
Joshua Levy, Deputy Project Leader
[email protected]

Principal Authors
Andrea Boron, Eric Cardenas, Cindy Cohen, Heidi Colby-Oizumi,
Daniel Cook, Kimberlie Freund, Dawn Heuschel
Jackie Jones, Aimee Larsen, Joshua Levy, Laura Polly,
Laura Rodriguez, James Stamps, and Philip Stone

Primary Reviewers
John Fry and Walker Pollard

Special Assistance
Robert Bauchspies, Judith Bryant, Brenda Carroll, Catherine DeFilippo,
Judith Dean, Nick Grossman, Aaron Miller, and Elizabeth Nesbitt

Under the direction of
Dennis Rapkins, Chief
Chemicals and Textiles Division
Abstract

This report identifies textile and apparel inputs that can be produced competitively
through new or increased investment or other measures in the 40 beneficiary sub-Saharan
African (SSA) countries that are eligible for trade preferences under the African Growth
and Opportunity Act. Textile and apparel inputs include yarn; knit, woven, and other
fabric; carded and combed natural fibers; manmade fibers; thread; and zippers, buttons,
and other types of trim.

SSA countries have the greatest potential to be competitive in the production of cotton
textile and apparel inputs. Cotton is the primary fiber currently used in the production of
yarn and fabric in the subject countries, and it is grown in large quantities in the region.
SSA countries also have the potential to competitively produce certain niche textile
items.

The competitiveness of many textile and apparel inputs already produced in the SSA
countries can be enhanced through new or increased investment or other measures,
particularly since production of such inputs is limited and declining in many instances.
New or increased investment or other measures could assist the industry in maintaining
or expanding current production and export levels of these inputs, as well as increase the
potential for production of some new products.

SSA countries face numerous and substantial challenges in their production of yarn,
fabric, and other textile and apparel inputs. As a whole, SSA countries have an
insufficient apparel base through which to develop and sustain upstream production in
yarn, fabric, and other inputs. SSA countries also face severe challenges with their
infrastructure, such as inadequate power and water supplies, and inadequate
transportation networks. These infrastructure challenges not only raise the cost of existing
production, but also deter significant new investment in the capital-intensive textile
industry.
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Abbreviations and Acronyms

AfDB African Development Bank
AGOA African Growth and Opportunity Act
ATC Agreement on Textiles and Clothing
B2B Business to business
CEMAC Central African Economic and Monetary Community
CIA Central Intelligence Agency
CFA Franc Franc de la Coopération Financière Africaine (CEMAC) and Franc de la Communauté
Financière de l’Afrique (WAEMU)
CMT Cut-make-trim
COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
CSP Customised Sector Programme
EAC East African Community
EBA Everything But Arms
ECCAS Economic Community of Central African States
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
EDBM Economic Development Board of Madagascar
EIU Economist Intelligence Unit
EPA Economic Partnership Agreement
EPZ Export processing zone
EU European Union
FAS Foreign Agricultural Service
FDI Foreign direct investment
FZA Franc Zone Africa
GDP Gross domestic product
GSP Generalized System of Preferences
HTS Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ICAC International Cotton Advisory Committee
ICC International Chamber of Commerce
IFC International Finance Corporation
IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa
IMF International Monetary Fund
ITMF International Textile Machinery Federation
kWh Kilowatt hour
LTEA Lesotho Textile Exporters Association
LDC Lesser-developed country
MFA Multi-fiber Arrangement
MY Marketing year
NTR Normal trade relations
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OTEXA Office of Textiles and Apparel
SACU Southern African Customs Union
SADC Southern African Development Community
SIPA Swazi Investment Promotion Authority
SME Square meter equivalent
SSA Sub-Saharan Africa
TEU Twenty-foot equivalent unit
UN United Nations
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UNDP United Nations Development Programme
USAID U.S. Agency for International Development
USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDOC U.S. Department of Commerce
USITC U.S. International Trade Commission
WAEMU West African Economic and Monetary Union
WITS World Integrated Trade Solution
WTO World Trade Organization
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Glossary

Bale—A standard U.S. statistical measurement for cotton is a 480 lb. bale (net weight). One metric ton
equals 4.59 bales. Individual bales vary in weight.

Carded fibers—Textile fibers (primarily of cotton, wool, and manmade fibers) that have been partially
straightened so the fibers are parallel to each other. Carding is also the last stage of the cleaning process
(in the case of cotton and wool fibers) as it removes most remaining impurities.

Combed fibers—Textile fibers that, after having been carded, are further straightened and aligned.
Combed fibers are smoother and more lustrous than carded fibers.

Cotton lint—Cotton lint is the fibers that surround the cottonseed.

Cotton staple length—The terms for different lengths are as follows:
Short Less than 3/16 inch
Medium 3/16 to 1 inch
Medium long 1 1/32 to 1 3/32 inches
Long 1 4/32 to 1 11/32 inches

Cut-make-trim (CMT)—A type of apparel manufacturing where the customer specifies design and
sometimes provides the fabric, trim, and packaging, while the contractor supplies the manufacturing
expertise to produce the finished garment.

Dyeing—The process of coloring fiber, yarn, or fabric with natural or synthetic dyes.

Factory shells—A structure constructed for industrial production, including apparel manufacturing.
Often, governments in SSA will construct manufacturing facilities to attract industrial investment,
offering such units at discounted or free rent.

Fast fashion—A merchandising system whereby a retailer introduces small quantities of new, relatively
exclusive garments at higher prices and keeps these items in the store for a limited time.

Finishing—Finishing operations are applied to yarn and fabric after bleaching, dyeing, or printing. Such
operations include pressing, heat-setting, napping, embossing, and applying chemicals that change the
nature of the fabric. In certain instances, finishing may also include bleaching, dyeing, or printing.

Fully fashioned knitwear—Knitwear produced by knitting each component (i.e., sleeves, front and back
bodices) to the correct size and shape, and sewing the components together. The machinery to produce
these components is much more expensive, and it takes longer to produce this type of knitwear versus cut-
make-trim knitwear. Therefore, most commercially available knitwear is not produced this way.

Greige goods—This fabric has not been bleached, dyed, or finished in any way after its initial production.

Knit fabric—A textile fabric produced by interlooping one or more yarns.

Lead time—The time frame needed to complete a production order, from the receipt of a purchase order
through the delivery of the goods.

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Manmade fibers—Chemically produced fibers created through technological means from chemicals or
combinations of chemicals and natural materials.

Manmade-filament fibers—Fibers that are continuous and/or of indefinite lengths; that may be
considered yarns, some without much further processing.

Manmade-staple fibers—Fibers that have been cut from filaments usually to the length of natural staple
fibers, such as cotton or wool.

Marketing year (MY)—For cotton, the marketing year is August 1 through July 31.

Narrow fabric—Any woven fabric with a width of 12 inches or less.

Natural fibers—Fibers made from natural materials, including animal (silk and wool); vegetable (cotton,
linen, jute, and ramie); and mineral (asbestos) sources as opposed to chemical sources. Natural fibers are
mostly staple fibers; natural filament fibers come only from silk.

Nonwoven fabric—This fabric is not knit or woven; it is made by an intermingling of textiles fibers in a
random manner.

Other fabric—Textile fabric such as nonwoven fabric, coated or laminated fabric, and fabric bonded with
plastic.

Parastatal—A corporation that is fully or partially state owned.

Polypropylene fibers—These fibers are a type of manmade fiber. They are extremely light fibers that
provide the greatest coverage per pound of any other fiber. They also have high resistance to mechanical
abuse and chemical attack.

Seed cotton—Seed cotton is cotton prior to being ginned and it comprises both the cotton lint and the
cottonseed.

SSA countries—This group includes the beneficiary SSA countries eligible for AGOA benefits. As of
May 15, 2009, the 40 countries were: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape
Verde, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia,
Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles,
Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.

Shuttle loom—A loom that uses a shuttle, a boat-shaped device made usually of wood, to carry the filling
(or horizontal) yarn across (over and under) the warp yarns (vertical yarns) during the weaving process.

Shuttleless loom—A loom that uses a method other than a shuttle (typically, an air- or water-jet method)
to insert the filling (or horizontal yarn) when weaving fabric.

Synthetic fibers— Fibers created from polymers synthesized from chemical compounds, e.g., acrylic,
nylon, polyester. Synthetic fibers are a subset of manmade fibers.

Thread—A strong yarn used for sewing the pieces of a garment or some other textile product together.

Trim—Fasteners or accessories to textile and apparel articles, including zippers, buttons, embroidery in
the piece, braids, and elastic.
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