Taiwanese build Lesotho mill to use AGOA benefit

A DENIM MILL which is currently under construction in the Lesotho capital of Maseru will become the worldÕs largest specialised denim fabric and garment manufacturing outlet when it is completed in three years time. It is being built by the Taiwanese textile giant Nien Hsing as part of an R800 million investment in the country aimed at taking full advantage of the US AGOA agreement. It enables Lesotho, among smaller nations on the continent, to import raw materials from elsewhere - including Taiwan - in its initial stages of production. Eventually, however, the country will be required to meet the regulations governing larger African states, which are required to source all raw material from within the African region. The Lesotho plant will then turn to South African manufacturers for its requirements. Nien Hsing has two garment factories in Maseru, which have been in operation for the past 12 years. Its new plants will produce two-million square metres of fabric and 90 dozen garments monthly, of which 95% will be exported to the US. The company currently makes more than 40 million pairs of jeans annually and employs 15 000 people worldwide, with plants in Nicaragua and Mexico as well as Lesotho. At full capacity the new Maseru plants will employ an additional 5 000 people.