Ghanaian textile market is currently full with African textile prints poorly and cheaply printed using stolen designs moreover; some of these unoriginal African prints have logos and trademarks of the original owners, which have created confusion amongst the buyers.
Textile industries in Ghana deteriorate due to influx of pirated textile designs into the country. Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL) one of the leading fabric companies in the country is on the verge of breaking down, their business has gone down by about 75 percent since 2009, costing the company millions of Ghana cedis. It has affected their cash flow and ability to operate properly. There are people complaining that they don’t supply the market. This is because they are short of working capital.
Ghana’s textile industry is under threat of collapse due to smuggling activities within the industry. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) is to get on a nationwide campaign to educate traders on the dangers of dealing in pirated textiles. The acting Director of Communications of MoTI, Nana Akrasi Sarpong, said that the educational campaign was to expose the traders to the effects of dealing in pirated textiles on Ghana’s textile industry and also prepare their minds for the intended exercise by the task force.
