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Tendai Sahondo Business Correspondent
Zimbabwe will launch its Cotton-to-Clothing (C2C) Export Strategy at the 5th Clothing Indaba in Bulawayo next Friday which aims to increase production of cotton lint to 450 000 tonnes per year.
The strategy also sets out to increase exports of textiles and garments to $7,5 million by 2019, when the implementation of the strategy is expected to be complete.
The Strategy aims to revive the country’s cotton and textile industry, which plays a significant role in Zimbabwe’s economic growth and development.
According to a statement issued by the International Trade Centre (ITC), more than 1 million Zimbabweans, including farmers, ginners and textile producers depend on cotton for their livelihoods.
The strategy is aligned to the C2C Strategy of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and aims to boost opportunities for Zimbabwean producers in Eastern and Southern Africa.
More than 100 stakeholders from the C2C sector, including representatives from the public sector, rural communities, small and medium-sized enterprises, and civil society, have defined a series of market-led development priorities.
The Strategy delivers a unifying roadmap with an ambitious set of targets, including a steep increase in yields to 1,200 kilograms per hectare that will benefit 250,000 smallholders.
Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha and ITC’s deputy executive director Sindiso Ngwenya and COMESA secretary-general Dorothy Tembo, will oversee the launch of the Strategy at the Bulawayo Clothing Indaba.
The Strategy has been developed by Zimbabwe’s ministry of Industry and Commerce, with the support of ITC and funded by the European Union under the EU-Africa Partnership on Cotton, and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).
Online Reporter