The Sunday Mail
Zimbabwe textiles industry players say there are nascent signs that a recovery of the sector is in the offing.
Once employing 35 000 people directly, and tens of thousands indirectly through the cotton chain, the local textiles sector is now a shaddow of its former self with an estimated 8 000 employees in textiles.
At the turn of the millenium, Chegutu-based David Whitehead Textiles (DWT) Limited paid the wages of 3 000 workers, and Cone Textiles (now Irazim ) employed more than 6 000 people, mainly from Chitungwiza.
But clouds were on the horizon.
China, fuelled by indomitable willpower, appetite and ambition; and the United Arab Emirates, spurred by petrodollars, started pumping loads of fabric on international markets – and Zimbabwe was not spared. As Asian textile industries grew, the local sector retreated, putting a toll on DWT and Irazim.
By extention, the clothing industry became increasingly reliant on importing raw materials, a development that resulted in net cash outflows in the cotton chain.
Things are starting to look up, though. David Whitehead resumed operations in November 2014 and is now operating at 40 percent capacity, which translates to 40 000m of fabric per week; against installed capacity of 100 looms, or 100 000m per week.
Since resuming operations, DWT has processed 200 000m of fabric.
DWT was placed under provisional judicial management in 2010 before confirmation of the final order in March last year. Mr Knowledge Hofisi, the DWT judicial manager, told The Sunday Mail Business they had crafted a three-pronged strategy to resuscitate the company, increase capacity utilisation levels and purchase new machinery.
“Our strategy is basically to increase the production levels to, maybe, 100 looms, but in order for us to do that, working capital will be required. In the long run, what we will need to do is to ensure that new machinery is acquired. Without acquiring new machinery, the textile industry will continue to face serious viability challenges because of the machinery in the textile industry, including David Whitehead, is antiquated, very old, and in terms of processing capacity, it is also significantly constrained…
“So this is a long-term strategy so that we will be able to penetrate the global market,” said Mr Hofisi of Aurifin Capital.
A cash injection of plus US$1 million could double DWT’s capacity.
Following the deregulation of the market by Government in 2009, most companies in the clothing industry have been importing fabric.
The battle to regain lost market share has just begun.
“The good thing with David Whitehead is the brand superiority; it has a very strong brand and the market seems to be appreciating that. Though it has not been easy for us to re-penetrate the market, we have come up with various measures to be able to regain that market,” said Mr Hofisi. DWT is supplying fabric to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS), the Army and other customers.
DWT chief operating officer Mr Edwin Chimanye is adamant that local manufacturers have good quality products, and that the clothing sector is importing on the basis of price and not quality.
“The quality of what we make is our strongest asset, although we have an ageing plant, which is not as economically efficient as we would want it to compete with companies from the Far East.
“So, in the medium to long-term, we have plans afoot to change the machinery. Locals importing fabric or clothes are doing so on basis of price and not quality. Crucially, the importers are traders and not the end-users so there are no issues to do with quality,” said Mr Chimanye.
Experts say there is perpetual business for textiles and clothing as clothes are a key human need.
Added Mr Chimanye: “(The textile industry) is not dying . . . because we are still clothed. Shops are still open and flea markets are still open and cotton farmers are operating, although they are about to change to other crops . . .
“We have an industry right now which is capable of going from US$100 million of cotton lint exports to US$12 billion a year if we value add. We must also send out things made in Zimbabwe.
“That is a deliberate thing that we all have to work towards achieving. The only way to achieve this is to look at farmers, ginners, garment makers, and others as one industry with a single oversight. That way it will work and that industry will end up employing a million people.”
Analysts say for the industry to thrive, Government must be as equally passionate about the sectors as India, China, Turkey and Bangladesh.
Zimbabwe presently appears content to be a primary producer of content lint, while countries like Bangladesh, who do not produce a single cotton plant, realise more export earnings from clothing.
Government, through its five-year economic blueprint Zim-Asset, is advocating for value addition and beneficiation to widen revenue streams and employment opportunities.
Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Binha has been engaging the Zimbabwe Textiles and Manufacturers Association to this end.
But there is always scepticism when it comes to David Whitehead.
The firm has been operating in a “start-stop” mode for a long time. DWT was put under provisional judicial management in December 2010.
Confirmation of the final order in March 2014 saw the responsibility of reviving the entity passed on to Mr Hofisi from Mr Wensely Malitala.
Initially, the company was placed under judicial management between May 2006 and April 2008 under Mr Cecil Madondo. It was then taken over by Elgate, whose directors Mr Andrew Toendepi and Mr Zivanai Mangena are presently accussed of stripping down the company.
