Plans in motion to revive SA's battered clothing manufacturing industry

Big plans are in motion to resuscitate South Africa's battered textile and clothing manufacturing industry.

At the same time, the National Clothing Retailers Federation (NCRF) has expressed concern at the rise in popularity of Chinese e-commerce retailers, selling fast fashion to local consumers.

The Federation says its investigations indicate that sites like Temu, which is quite new to South Africa, are not paying the correct duty and VAT to SARS.

Click here to read about a proposal to re-establish the Western Cape clothing industry with quick-response factories that can compete with cheap Chinese imports.

In conversation with Bruce Whitfield, NCRF executive director Michael Lawrence does acknowledge that local manufacturers have been protected to a degree by the high tariffs levied on imported goods.

"We charge the highest duty - 45% - on clothing products.The manufacturing sector for way over a decade now, has been significantly protected. In fact, before it was 45%, it was 40% in the early 2000s."

"Over and above that, I think a number of countries and African countries in particular have realised there are enormous opportunities for jobs with skilled, semi-skilled and also no skills jobs."

Michael Lawrence, Executive Director - National Clothing Retail Federation

Lawrence notes that the Federation and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) got together in 2018 already to take a closer look at how clothing retail worked.

They've seen an amazing turnaround since then, he says.

"All the retailers that have signed up, which are most of the big ones and also a few smaller ones, have seen their collective local purchasing going from some 35% to over 45% collectively."

"At this stage it's pretty much been identified that into the future it's going to be a technology investment exercise and a skills development exercise, and those are very good for our economy. We've also got to find the kind of tech that allows us to produce at scale..."

"And who knows, we might start exporting product more aggressively as we once did to the northern hemisphere."

Michael Lawrence, Executive Director - National Clothing Retail Federation