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Business Reporter
INDUSTRY and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha will officially launch the cotton production strategy in Bulawayo today and participate in the clothing indaba set to unlock the sector’s potential. Players in the textile sector will meet Minister Bimha to tackle the challenges facing their operations and map strategies towards improving productivity.
The event will be held at a city hotel where there will be a mini-exhibition of garments and designs, organisers said.
Jeremy Youmans, who chairs the Zimbabwe Clothing Manufacturers Association, has said the cotton strategy was developed over the last five months by the Ministry of Industry, representatives of the entire value chain, ginners, oil expressers and textile, clothing and government agencies.

Today’s deliberations are anchored on the theme “Made in Zimbabwe”, which emphasises the need to boost domestic textile production at a time when imports have flooded the market.

About 105 companies are registered under the clothing sector with an employment capacity of more than 6,000 people.
At its peak the clothing sector used to absorb up to 35,000 workers countrywide.

The sector used to produce about 135 million garments annually compared to 18,7 million at present.
Statistics indicate Zimbabwe is importing at least $300 million worth of clothing products annually.

Economists blame the increase in imports for suffocating local industry and draining the country’s foreign currency reserves.
It is hoped the meeting will proffer solutions to the resuscitation of closed textile firms, mainly in Bulawayo.