As costs rise in Asia, Africa is emerging as a new sourcing destination for major apparel buyers, as the USAID West Africa Trade Hub learned at the MAGIC apparel show in Las Vegas, February 13-16. Clothing manufacturers from Cameroon, the Gambia and Ghana signed $570,000 in deals, with potential orders estimated at $4.5 million--a new milestone for the show, where the Hub has organized the Source Africa pavilion for several years.

 Left, Caroline Kendem of Ken Atlantic in Cameroon talks with potential clients at MAGIC

Buyers told the Hub's market linkages team (including Joyjit Debroy and Jean-Pierre Rousseau of CARANA, which manages the Hub for USAID) that prices in China rose 40% last year. Chinese manufacturers are among those drawn by Africa's lower labor costs and duty-free advantages through the U.S. African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), as well as its proximity to the U.S. East Coast.

 

Investment in African apparel manufacturing is also picking up. Last year, American and Pakistani investors opened a new garment factory in Ghana, which plans to employ 1,500 people in five years. Read more.

 

Find out more about Source Africa Now.

 

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