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Edgar Vhera-Special Writer

STAKEHOLDERS in the cotton industry must entrench principles of exporting finished cotton products in their planning for increased foreign currency generation, employment creation and economic development of the country.

Zimbabwe Textiles Manufacturers Association chairman Mr Admire Masenda said this against a background of dwindling or outright abandonment of exports of high value finished cotton products over the years.

“Merchants are prioritising exporting cotton lint against Government’s value addition call for increased foreign currency earnings. The price of yarn is twice that of lint while that fabric is also higher than that of yarn,” said Mr Masenda.

Between 2012 and 2014, Zimbabwe used to export cotton products that included seeds, yet to be carded and uncombed cotton, cotton linters, yarn waste (including thread waste), other cotton waste and carded or combed cotton.

This export list has since trimmed down to only cotton seeds and cotton, not carded or combated by 2021.

Statistics on export trade from Zimstats 2012, for example, show that the country exported 141 409 tonnes of cotton products worth US$226 236 170.

Value addition of cotton lint into yarn results in the realisation of a higher price of US$3,16 per kg. Transformation of cotton from not carded or combed into carded or combed will result in the price increasing from US$1,63 to US$3,44 – a giant 111 percent surge.

In export shipment volume terms, a paltry 0,06 percent and 0,29 percent is accounted for by the exportation of the highly paying products of carded or combed cotton and yarn waste respectively.

The year 2021 has seen the country exporting 52 374 tonnes of cotton products worth US$80 million at an average price of US$1,53 per kg.

The call for value addition came hot on the heels of the obtaining lint shortage crippling the local clothing and textile sector resulting in job lay-offs.

In a related cotton value chain development matter, the Zimbabwe Textile Manufacturers Association chairman Jeremy Youmans highlighted the importance of cotton for the Zimbabwean economy by saying “lint produced from the ginning of seed cotton can be spun into yarn producing products like socks, twine and cordage and so on. Value addition of yarn produces fabric, however, at the moment not much is produced as much lint is exported without value addition.

“In 2021 the Ministry of Agriculture’s exports permit section issued permits to lint exporters without undertaking due diligence to ascertain whether the 30 percent local lint supply had been met.

“The system of granting export licence involves the Ministries of Agriculture and that of Industry and Commerce working with the Agriculture Marketing Authority (AMA) to issue support letters for the granting of the export permits indicating the quantities that can be exported after deduction of the lint for the local market is met,” he added.

Value addition to cotton lint produces 100 percent polyester, cotton and poly cotton products among others, indicated Mr Youmans.

Stock feed Manufacturers Association of Zimbabwe executive administrator, Dr Chrispen Sukume said they were the main consumers of cotton cake from oil expressers, which they use as raw material in the manufacture of cattle and dairy feed lots.

“Our problem is that oil expressers from where we get cotton cake after the cotton seed crushing process is done, offer to us the cake during the three to four months of cotton processing per year.

“During the cotton cake production time they expect local consumers the cake to procure all their annual requirements. If stock feed manufacturers do not have adequate funds during that time of mass cotton cake production, then they are forced to import the cotton cake outside the window period when its available locally.

“Oil expressers export any cotton cake that would not have been taken by local stock feed manufacturers. 

“As a country we should not be importing cotton cake at all if oil expressers were to keep some in their warehouses for local sales,” said Dr Sukume.

Stock feed manufacturers require about 40 000 tonnes of cotton cake annually. The requirement varies, as a result of the obtaining weather conditions with drought periods requiring more for animal feed supplements for survival meal.