Causes and Effects of the Dwindled State of the Ghana Textile Industry

Ghana's once booming Textile industry has seen a downturn in recent times with multiplicity of adverse effects on the nation at large. Major research findings of the Ghana Textile Industry reveal poor operational and output performance with less than 4,000 workforce, average production output of 46 million yards per annum and foreign exchange and revenue generation of 3.173 million US dollars across the country. Whiles some stakeholders blame the government for lack of goodwill and policy direction for the industry, others argue that the industry operates on obsolete machinery and technology. This research identifies and examines the causes and effects of the dwindled state of the Ghana textile industry and makes projections toward revitalization of the textiles sub-sector. It targeted key players of the textile sub-sector from industry and academia. Purposively, Textiles Ghana Limited (TGL), Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL), KNUST and Takoradi Polytechnic were selected for the study. However, stratified sampling technique was used in selecting members from the parent population for data collection through interview and questionnaire. The study combines qualitative and quantitative research approaches through Ex Post Facto analysis to arrive at the results. Stiff competition and trade liberalization were found as the major causes of the dwindled state of the industry. The rippling effects includes; high rate of redundancy, upsurge in graduate unemployment, low exports and high imports of textiles, decline in textiles education, etc. Restructuring, recapitalization, retooling and policy direction are critical projections recommended for the industry to build competitive edge against its off-shore counterpart to survive.