‘Textile industry has a duty to push for Agoa extension’

There is a distinct need for proactive participation of the clothing and textile industry in moves to extend the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) agreement, according to Neren Dayanand, branch manager of Turners Shipping, Durban. The current Agoa arrangement, which provides duty-free access to garments manufactured in Africa (amongst the other goods approved by the act), expires in 2015 and an investigation is under way at present to determine whether there is good cause for its extension. “It is in the interests of all exporters to participate,” he told FTW. “Two of our land-locked neighbours, Lesotho and Swaziland, are beneficiaries of the Agoa agreement – exporting a combined US$360 million of textile products to the US, all of which comes through SA. “This is a significant contributor to the freight forwarding sector.” Dayanand said that trade agreements such as Agoa were an important stimulus for sub-Saharan economies – with direct benefits for local business. “When one considers that Lesotho workers in the garment and textile industry earn the equivalent of US$60m a year, one gets a sense of the importance of these bilateral agreements. This money circulates through the economy, supporting a range of other small businesses.” CAPTION Neren Dayanand … ‘important stimulus for sub-Saharan economies.’