According to Lesotho media Reporter, Lesotho’s garment and textile industry has been in a state of plummeting recently. As factories close, more and more workers are unemployed. Since the beginning of this year, 10,000 workers have left their jobs, and the wave of job losses is expected to continue. The apparel and textile industry, which has the second largest employment after the government, has been underperforming due to reduced U.S. orders.
Rathakane, head of the Lesotho Independent Democratic Alliance, pointed out the current difficulties faced by the industry and urged the government to help factories find alternative markets. Ratjomose, an economist at the National University of Lesotho, said that in recent years, Lesotho’s exports to North America have gradually lost competitiveness, and the quantity and value of exports have declined. At the same time, exports from other African countries such as Madagascar, Mauritius, Kenya, and Ethiopia have increased. Increase. Ratjomose believes that Lesotho needs to promote self-sufficiency in raw materials rather than importing them from Asia, and then fully participate in global value chains to achieve economic restructuring. The current problem in Lesotho is that the textile industry is dominated by foreign capital, which means that industry profits are very limited. Ratjomose also warned that the retrenchment of the textile industry would exacerbate poverty levels in the country.
Recently, Lesotho’s Minister of Trade and Industry Schuelle announced that Lesotho will soon begin designing and manufacturing clothing for direct export to the United States. This is in contrast to the current design process in Taiwan, China. different. He said: “This will be beneficial to Lesotho because we no longer need Taiwan to do it for us, and the money saved will be used for labor and utilities such as water and electricity.” </p
