Ghana’s local market has been suffering over the last one decade since it is flooded with cheap imports, mainly arriving from China. Experts point out that the employment in the domestic industry is now reduced to mere 3,000 jobs from almost ten times this number in 1980s.

According to Charles Asante-Bempong, Director at the Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA), the low quality copies of goods flooding the markets are killing domestic manufacturing businesses. Also, raw materials is another issue. Except for locally produced cotton used by the manufacturers, many of the dyes, chemicals and machines are imported from abroad at very high rates. For example, located in Tema, GTP is one of only four factories still operating. Renowned for its traditional designs and wax printed fabrics, the company has seen production levels drop 30 per cent and its production unit half since 2005.

Dealing with counterfeit good has become a huge issue and lack of government support is further damaging the prospects of once flourishing textile industry.

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