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Despite the fact that cotton grows in 26 of Nigeria's 36 states and West Africa is the fifth-largest producing region globally, the Nigeria textile industry is still going down every day owing to challenges of huge appetite for importation, which has resulted to poor patronage of locally made fabrics.
The Central Bank of Nigeria said it provided cotton producers with more than $300 million in loans in recent years to support the domestic textile industry. Last year, it was reported that Nigeria produces excess cotton. Despite this report, so many companies rely on the importation of cotton and textile from abroad.

There are reports that some people export raw cotton from Nigeria to other countries like China, and then import it back to the country at a higher rate.

For example, the people who had invested their hard-earned money into African prints like Ankara have little returns as they now import directly from China with made-in-Nigeria labels. These imported materials come at an extra cost which had resulted to an increase in price. Hence, a reduction in demand (so many people are not willing to pay too much for Ankara).

Also, the procurement of school uniforms from abroad by many private schools continues to undermine the growth of the textile sector.

Despite the ban of imported finished textiles to protect local manufacturers and designers, having cost the economy at least $4 billion yearly, Data from the National Bureau of Statistics confirmed that Nigeria's importation of textile materials has been on the rise, with the country recording N200.6 billion worth of goods at the third quarter of 2020.

For those who intend to invest heavily this year, I will advise that you stay away from the textile industry, especially the production of locally made textiles.

Note:

Some of the facts highlighted here are gathered from an article by The Guardian newspaper titled Why textile sector remains on brink despite interventions published on Thursday, January 14, 2021.

Akinpelumi, Akinboye