The Textile Sector in Tanzania
The
Textile Sector in Tanzania has a history of over 30 years. Tanzania
by the early 80’s had a total investment of 500 million USD most
of which was made by the Government and had a total employment
of 37,000 people, by far the largest employer in the country.
The main motivation for the government to invest in this sector
(aside from the more obvious employment benefits) was to add value
to Tanzanian cotton through exports, as well as develop products
that could substitute imports. As with most parastatal organizations
in Tanzania, economic liberalization greatly affected the survival
of sector as most of these investments were never run commercially
and concentrated more on employment generators rather than profit.
Poor management, lack of technical expertise, as well as lack
of working capital resulted in most mills achieving in some cases
less than 10% capacity utilization. This trend continued until
the late 90’s when most mills were shut down awaiting privatisation.
In the past years, has seen a sort of revival in the Tanzania
textile sector with most government companies having been privatised
and a few new investments having been made as well. Although most
of these industries are engaged in the production of printed fabrics
for the local and regional market, there are companies who are
succeeding in exporting yarn and finished garments to Europe.
Although the level of technology in the mills is now more than
a decade old, most of the machinery has been very well maintained
and in some cases never used. Construction of these plants was
very well made and most buildings are still in very good condition.
Profile of Tanzanian Textile Sector
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