Benin, a French-speaking West African nation, is known as a cotton producer and is actively working to boost value-added activities in the textiles and garments industry. The country has also been looking at increasing its industrial footprint more broadly.
The construction of the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ), located 45 km from the port city of Cotonou, is a major initiative for textile and apparel industry.
The GDIZ is a public-private partnership between the Government and Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms, which is owned by the Africa Finance Corporation and Singapore-based giant Olam International. The operation of the first phase is slated for early 2022.
Spanning 1,640 ha, the zone will be dedicated to adding value to cotton also. Six industrial units will process cotton lint, which will feed into 29 units for making clothing. Storage and warehousing facilities are to be located on the premises as well, along with a single-window clearance system to facilitate trade.
Arise forecasts US $1.4 billion in investment in the zone’s first phase of development, which will lead to approximately 12,000 jobs.
To ensure players at the GDIZ have enough raw materials to manufacture textiles, the Government implemented a ban on 30 per cent of cotton lint exports – to take effect by the end of 2021 – with the figure rising to 70 per cent by the end of 2022 and 100 per cent by the end of 2023.
A major investment in the zone was announced very recently in October 2021. Aigle Group of Tunisia is investing CFA11 billion to transform cotton into textiles, which will create estimated 2,000 direct jobs. Its operations at GDIZ are slated to begin by the end of 2022 and will take place at a 40,000-sq. metre industrial unit.
As production ramps up, the number of direct and indirect jobs is projected to increase to 60,000 by 2027. Garments are to be shipped from the Autonomous Port of Cotonou to Europe, Turkey and the Middle East.
“Amongst our key targets is the expansion of cotton production and the development of textile industries that are competitive on an international scale, given our leadership in cotton on the continent. Cotton production increased from 250,000 tonnes in 2015 to approximately 730,000 tonnes in 2020, and we aim to boost production to 1million tonnes by 2025, with almost the entire volume destined for export. Offshoring is another target industry, especially given the rise in demand against the backdrop of the pandemic,” says Laurent Gangbes, Director-General, Agency for Promotion of Investment and Exports.
“We have prioritised strengthening the textiles industry, given that we are a continental leader in cotton production. Indeed, it is the focus of the industrial zone created in partnership with Arise. This endeavour will require hiring qualified personnel, offering opportunities for women and youth. We are in discussions with global partners to strengthen this ecosystem, and hope to conclude agreements quickly to position ourselves amongst the top textile producers,” says Hamet Aguemon Minister and Adviser to the President of the Republic for Investment.
It is worth mentioning here that in 2019, when nearly US $451 million of raw cotton was exported, income from exported cotton sewing thread, cotton yarn and woven fabrics containing at least 85 per cent cotton totalled US $10.1million, according to data from the UN Comtrade Database. The Government and private sector players acknowledge that investing in activities further down the value chain will maximise the benefits of Benin’s “white gold” in terms of export receipts and jobs.
Benin offers splendid opportunity of processing the cotton bales produced in the country to meet the strong 320 million consumer’s demand in ECOWAS/UMEOA region.
