Nigeria’s textile industry has failed to break out of a prolonged downturn, with real output falling for a ninth consecutive quarter as imported products and structural constraints continue to weigh on local manufacturers.
The textile, apparel and footwear subsector contracted by 1.23% year-on-year in real terms in Q2 2026, according to the latest Gross Domestic Product report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The decline extends a contraction streak that began in Q2 2024, meaning the subsector has recorded negative real growth in every quarter since then.
Its contribution to Nigeria’s real GDP has also weakened. The sector accounted for 1.77% of real GDP in Q2 2026, down from 1.87% in the same quarter of 2025.
Nine Quarters of Decline
The current downturn began with a relatively modest 1.41% contraction in Q2 2024.
It then intensified:
- Q3 2024: -3.09%
- Q4 2024: -3.39%
- Q1 2025: -1.63%
- Q2 2025: -1.32%
- Q3 2025: -2.41%
- Q4 2025: -2.68%
- Q1 2026: -1.22%
- Q2 2026: -1.23%
The 3.39% decline recorded in Q4 2024 remains the sharpest contraction during the nine-quarter period.
Although the latest decline is considerably smaller than some of the contractions recorded previously, the more important signal is its persistence.
The industry has yet to produce a single quarter of positive real growth since mid-2024.
Nominal Output Is Also Falling
The weakness is not limited to inflation-adjusted output.
The subsector’s nominal output fell 0.49% year-on-year in Q2 2026, reaching approximately ₦1.506 trillion, compared with ₦1.514 trillion a year earlier.
Its declining share of real GDP reinforces the picture of an industry losing ground within the wider economy.
The subsector was also one of the weaker performers within manufacturing during the quarter.
That stands in sharp contrast to some other manufacturing activities:
- Oil refining: +43.94%
- Cement: +12.75%
- Chemical and pharmaceutical products: +7.70%
- Textile, apparel and footwear: -1.23%
Why Has the Industry Struggled?
Nigeria’s textile industry has spent years battling a combination of imported competition, weak domestic production capacity and difficult operating conditions.
Imported fabrics and finished textile products remain a major source of pressure.
In February 2025, the Federal Government estimated that Nigeria spends around $6 billion annually on imported textiles. Industry representatives have also described a dramatic decline in employment and the number of active textile companies since the industry’s stronger years in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The import problem has continued.
Textile and related-product imports reached approximately ₦1.06 trillion in 2025, according to previously reported trade data.
That creates a difficult competitive environment for local producers already dealing with high production costs and infrastructure constraints.
Billions Are Being Pitched at a Revival
The government and private investors have nevertheless been exploring ways to rebuild domestic textile production.
One of the most ambitious proposals came from Afreximbank, which announced plans in June 2025 for a $5 billion integrated textile facility in Nigeria.
The proposed project was expected to create roughly 250,000 jobs, produce about 350,000 tonnes of garments annually and potentially reduce Nigeria’s textile import bill by around $4.7 billion.
The scale of the proposal illustrates the size of the opportunity—but also the gap between Nigeria’s current production capacity and potential domestic demand.
Import Ban Debate Intensifies
The industry’s weakness has also revived the debate over restricting imports.
In June 2026, the Senate called for a ban on textile imports as part of efforts to protect domestic producers.
The proposal has faced resistance from parts of the private sector.
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise warned that an outright ban could create disruptions across the wider fashion and garment ecosystem, which it estimates supports the livelihoods of around 10 million Nigerians.
The policy challenge is therefore more complicated than simply blocking imported products.
A restriction could give local manufacturers greater room to compete, but without sufficient domestic capacity, reliable infrastructure and affordable production inputs, it could also create shortages or higher costs for businesses and consumers.
Manufacturer Confidence Is Improving—But Textiles Aren’t
Perhaps the most revealing part of the latest figures is what happened elsewhere in the manufacturing sector.
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s Manufacturers’ CEOs Confidence Index increased by 3.4 points in Q2 2026, moving back above the 50-point threshold after falling below it in the previous quarter.
Manufacturers reported greater optimism about the commercial environment, with recent policy measures—including the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, Nigeria Industrial Policy and Nigeria First Policy—contributing to improved sentiment.
Yet textile, apparel and footwear production continued to contract.
That suggests the subsector’s problems may run deeper than general business confidence.
The Bigger Problem
Nigeria’s textile industry does not simply need stronger sentiment. It needs production capacity that can compete.
That means addressing the structural issues that make locally produced textiles more expensive or less reliable than imported alternatives, while ensuring that any trade restrictions do not create unintended damage across the broader fashion and garment market.
The latest GDP data offers a clear warning.
Nine consecutive quarters of contraction is no longer a temporary slowdown. It is a structural decline that requires a structural response.
Until investment, domestic production, competitiveness and market access improve together, Nigeria’s ambition to rebuild its textile industry will remain ahead of the industry’s actual output.