The Attraction of Textile Manufacturing in Ethiopia

Ethiopia bets on clothes to fashion an industrial future: textile manufacturing in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA (CGTN Africa)–A growing list of renowned brands is churning out clothes from factories in Ethiopia. The North African country aims to rise to a position among the world’s biggest garment-makers. It comes as labour, the cost of raw materials and taxes rise in dominant textiles producers like China. CGTN’s Alexandria Majalla has more details.

Some facts and figures behind textile manufacturing in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian garment and apparel industry has grown an average of 51% over the last 6 years
Ethiopia attracted foreign investments of US$1.2 billion in the first six months of the 2016-2017 fiscal year, dominated by Chinese companies
Out of the 124 foreign investors that expressed an interest in Ethiopia’s textile and clothing sector over the past three months, 71 were from China
For example, Jiangsu Sunshine Group, which deals in wool textiles and garments, is investing close to US$1 billion in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has a target to generate 30 billion U.S. dollars in export from the textile and apparel sector by 2030 (according to Bogale Feleke, Ethiopian Deputy Minister of Industry) and establish a foundation for further growth of the strategic heavy industries which finally enable Ethiopia to become an industrialized country by 2025 (according to GTP II)
According to the World Investment Report, Ethiopia is one of the top performing African countries in FDI flow, registering a 46% increase in 2016, especially in textile sector, though FDI flows to Africa continued to decline
One of the main reason Ethiopia has become the top choice for investors is the country’s abundant and inexpensive labor force (monthly pay for a factory labor: $50 to 60 in Ethiopia, compared with $140 to $160 in Kenya, $70 to $90 in Bangladesh, $150 to $170 in Vietnam and $400 to $500 in China).

Sources: CGTN Africa | Semonegna.com
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