By Samson Ntale
PANA Correspondent

Kampala, Uganda (PANA) - Exports of textiles and apparel from Sub-Saharan African countries to the US had risen by 25.4 percent at the end of 2001, one year after the enactment of the Africa Growth Opportunities Act, or AGOA.

This followed an economic down-turn in the US over the past two years, coupled with a shortfall in supplies from central America and the Caribbean region, which are traditionally the main sources of its imports.

According to the US - Africa Trade report issued on 28 February by the President of the African Coalition of Trade, Paul Ryberg, the export volume increased from 186.553 Million Square Meter Equivalents (MSME) in 2000 to 233.983 MSME by last December.

"This growth from Africa is all the more impressive because total US textile and apparel imports from all sources declined by 0.17 percent over the same period last year due to the economic turndown in the US," Ryberg's report says.

The report, released Tuesday at the end of the two-day trade capacity building seminar on 'Maximising the Benefits of AGOA in Eastern Africa' attributes the growth to the short supply of these products from central America and the Caribbean.

Central America and Caribbean countries are beneficiaries of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) programme, which jointly supply 11.3 percent of textile and apparel exports to the US.

"The large market share enjoyed by the CBI countries results from both their geographic proximity to the US market and the tariff and quota preferences granted to them by the CBI program," the ACT report says.

"Despite these competitive advantages, US textile and apparel imports from the CBI countries fell by 2.2 percent during 2001," it adds

In monetary terms, textile and apparel imports from Africa also marked a 25.6 percent rise from 776.393 million US dollars in 2000 to 975.043 million dollars a year later.

Four African countries together accounted for 81% of total US apparel and textile imports from Africa during 2001. These are South Africa 59.330 MSME (25.4 percent), Lesotho 50.981 MSME (21.8 percent), Mauritius 41.116 MSME (17.6 percent) while Madagascar accounted for 37, 486 MSME or 16 percent.

"The sharp increase in the rate of growth of imports from the eligible countries during 2001, therefore, provides striking evidence that the opportunities create d by this AGOA really do translate into increased trade," says Ryberg.

Whilst most apparel imported from Africa tended to be lower in terms of value-added, mass produced goods, there were exceptions where the value of African exports exceeded the relative volume.

Ryberg cites the example of Mauritius, which has in recent months consistently been the third exporter of textiles and apparel to
the US.

Mauritius has remained first in the value of such exports, reflecting the higher value-added of most apparel made in Port-Louis.

Kenya, which was the best performing East African country, earned 64.7 million US dollars from 18.578 MSME. Swaziland earned 47.9 million US dollars from 11.4 MSME, Malawi got 11.2 million US dollars out of 4.368 MSME while Botswana closed the year 2001
with a dismal 2.4 million dollars from 1.303 MSME.

"Mauritius has traditionally been the largest apparel exporter to the US from the African region. Regardless of whether volume or value measures such exports.

"This changed in March 2001 when Lesotho's apparel exports to US shot ahead of those Mauritius as measured by volume.

"Since the Lesotho and South Africa have trade places, shifting back and forth between first and second, respectively while Mauritius has maintained third place," Ryberg explained.

Madagascar, whose exports during 2001 increase by 83.8 percent over the previous year's figure, recorded the greatest percentage growth in exports to the US.

This followed a 125 percent increase by Madagascar during the same year over the previous year 1999. Swaziland, Lesotho and Kenya also posted a growth rate of 55.4 percent, 48.4 percent, and 46.6 percent, respectively.

Dakar, le 20 Mars 2002