Thomas Robbertse News Today

Even though cotton is grown in South Africa, most is exported for processing and manufactured into clothing items, before being imported again As apparel retailers and brands scramble to try to disentangle their cotton supply chains from possible links to forced labour abuses in Xinjiang province, China is likely to be looking for alternative markets for its fibres – presenting new challenges for countries like South Africa. Allegations that ethnic minority labourers in the Xinjiang region in...

SAs cotton value chain could be losing about R20.4 billion in opportunity cost, claims agtech CEO Share South Africas cotton production has grown by almost 800% since 2013. The country does not have the spinning capacity to convert the lint into yarn. This meant 84% of last years lint cotton had to be exported. Most of South Africas lint cotton (about 84%) is exported for processing and then the final product is imported again, leading to an estimated opportunity los...