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By Bimbola Oyesola
The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has said Nigeria will generate over $1 billion by 2025 through millions of jobs that will be created in the leather, cotton and garments sector.
Speaking at the stakeholders engagement forum and exhibition in assessing opportunity and challenges in the Nigeria leather, garment and apparel industry recently, the Executive Director of the NEPC, Mr Ezra Yakuza said that the Nigerian leather industry has the potential to generate over a billion US Dollar ($1B) by 2025 which can increase earning to about 70 percent in the next couple of years with proper structures in place.
He said this is also expected to curb the rate of unemployment across the country.
Represented by the Deputy Director, Product development of the council, Mr Macherpson Fred, he said one of the sectors identified to be overwhelmed with huge untapped potentials is the manufacturing/industrial sector of which leather, garment and apparel got referenced.
“Statistics showed that for over two decades, Asia dominated the global garment production, with China leading the pack as the largest manufacturer and exporter of Apparels and Garment with an export turnover of about $26.41billion,” he said.
He explained that the leading manufacturing hub like China, chase after apparel and garment exports to gain global market share, reduce unemployment, and diversify its economy ditto some African countries like Ghana, Ethiopia and Kenya who have taken the lead in the export of apparels and garment.
Yakuza noted that the foregoing revelations call for concerted effort not to continuously overlook this latent sub-sector, but rather explore and harness the vast opportunities inherent in its folds as it has the possibility of creating millions of jobs, reducing the pressure on the nation’s foreign reserves and opening practitioners to global wealth.
According to him, “NEPC has been at the forefront of assisting and promoting the development of export-oriented industries/sub-sectors towards boosting export activities that would expand the country’s volume and value of non-oil export for sustainable and inclusive economic growth.”
