COTTON to clothing value chain stakeholders have called on the Government to temporarily shelve the proposed increase in customs duty on selected polyester staple fibres with dyed woven fabrics of cotton until the completion of an ongoing industry study.

The Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) and National Competitiveness Commission (NCC), at the instigation of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, are conducting a study to gain a better understanding of capacities across the whole value chain and problems limiting linkages between the stages of the value chain.

The Government has increased by 300 percent the customs duty on selected imported polyester staple fibres with dyed woven fabrics of cotton to support local production and strengthen the cotton-to-clothing value chain.

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, disclosed this when he presented the 2026 National Budget in Harare recently.

“In support of local production, I propose to review and align the customs duty rate on selected polyester staple fibres with dyed woven fabrics of cotton from the current rate of 10 percent to 40 percent (300 percent) plus US$2,50 per kilogramme.

“I, further propose to review materials benefiting from the Clothing Manufacturers Rebate to exclude the above-mentioned fabrics, subject to quality and competitive pricing from local manufacturers. These measures take effect from January 1, 2026.”

Zimbabwe Clothing Manufacturers Association (ZCMA) chairman, Mr Jeremy Youmans, said it was too early to effect these measures as the study results are yet to be released.

“We request that the Ministry of Industry make the Ministry of Finance aware of the ongoing study being done by CTC and NCC.

“We believe only after the final study recommendation and full value chain stakeholder agreement can proper support measures be crafted,” he said.

Mr Youmans disclosed that support measures need to be crafted to benefit all stages of the value chain, as it is the interaction between the stages and synergy created that form the basis of value chain development.

“The intended duty of 40 percent should only apply to finished goods, not fabric, which is a raw material for the clothing industry and an intermediate good for home textile manufacturers.

“The additional US$2,50 per kg can make the duty rate rise to between 60 and 90 percent depending on the weight of the fabric,” he added.

Edgars Stores group chief executive officer, Mr Sevious Mushosho, concurred, saying that this development will not benefit the cotton to clothing industry, but will result in high prices for clothing and promotion of smuggling of both fabrics and finished garments.

“Local fabric manufacturers have no capacity to produce the range of fabrics required in fashion and what they produce only suits a narrow range. We are already buying what they are producing and augmenting with imports to meet our customers’ ever-changing fashion needs,” he said.

Mr Mushosho said the quality of local fabrics is not yet matching international standards, more expensive and they produce a narrow range, which makes no difference to the clothing manufacturers.

“We recommend that the Government defer this policy to allow further consultations to happen within the value chain after the research being done by CTC and NCC is completed.

“Clothing manufacturing is the biggest player and employer in the cotton-to-clothing value chain and such a move will have a significant negative impact on employment and growth in the sector as informal traders are the winners,” he added.

An agricultural expert, Dr Reneth Mano, agreed that the new policy measures appear to be prematurely increasing the cost of imported fabric at a time when the domestic cotton textile industry is not yet firing on all cylinders.

“Zimbabwe must emulate the best policies from the countries that have succeeded in establishing a globally competitive textile and clothing industry. Invariably, almost all of these successful countries have liberalised imports to reduce the landed cost of different types of fabrics in order to complement domestic supplies of locally produced cotton fabric, all of which are raw materials for a vibrant domestic clothing manufacturing industry,” he said.

Dr Mano said that to be vibrant and competitive, a domestic textile and clothing industry must have the capacity to produce a wide range of articles of clothing tailored from different types of cloth — cotton cloth, polyester cloth, nylon cloth, woollen cloth, among others, at globally competitive low prices to satisfy the diversity of consumer taste and preferences in the home and export markets.

“The resuscitation of the domestic cotton lint spinning and weaving textile industry has enjoyed direct fiscal policy support in the form of standard tax breaks and duty rebates on imports of textile machinery and spare parts.

“These are the most effective policy measures that the Government ought to double or treble in order to ensure that the new factory investments in the textile industry kick off and take off on the basis of having globally comparable cost structures to produce Proudly Zimbabwean cotton cloth at globally competitive free on board (FOB) prices,” he said.

Dr Mano said the good intentions of the budget are commendable, but there is a very big risk that these latest border policy proclamations will undermine rather than advance the overall objectives of National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) with respect to growth and development of the textile and clothing industry beyond the narrow-vested interests of one or two companies.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Textile Manufacturers Association (ZITMA) chairperson, Mr Admire Masenda, applauded the Government’s move and said more still needs to be done.

“As ZITMA we see these as steps in the right direction in protecting our sector; however, more still needs to be done. The issue of second-hand clothing must be dealt with decisively as it continues to play havoc with the market,” he said.

Mr Masenda also called for management of the importation of ready-made garments, as manufacturing was critical in the growth of the textile sector. – Herald