The President of The Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA), Mrs Grace Adereti, urged the Federal Government to establish a cotton corporation in the country in order to boost production of the commodity and revitalize the textile industry. The set up Cotton Corporation would ease textile manufacturer’s access to raw materials for production.

In the past, there was a market board and government had control over the price of cotton. They want the government to intervene in this matter and save manufacturers as some factories have suspended production although they have the machinery and workforce and are also ready to produce but they are hindered by the present situation that is no cotton for production.

The Director-General of the association, Mr Hamma Kwajaffa, also alleged that rivalry among government agencies contributed to the challenges hindering the growth of the textile industry.

The former Minister of Agric initiated the creation of the cotton corporation, but he had a rivalry with the Minister of Trade that said establishing the corporation falls within his domain. That was how the whole matter was stalled at the Federal Executive Council.

The absence of regulation makes everyone to fix prices that they want across the value chain. If you go to Chad, you cannot just buy cotton. It is regulated by their government.They will prefer that local usage of cotton is given preference before export, Kwajaffa said.

He said that the corporation would create shared prosperity while stimulating the growth of the agricultural and industrial sectors of the economy.

A former President of the association, Sen. Walid Jibrin, said that the non-regulation of pricing and grading of cotton as was obtainable in the past had created quality and scarcity challenges in the textile sector. Creating a cotton corporation will improve the quality, quantity, marketing and competitiveness of players across the entire value chain.