Tanzania is stepping up efforts to revive its struggling textile industry by attracting investment from China, as the government looks to reverse years of decline and rebuild its industrial base.
Officials are positioning foreign capital as a critical tool to restore production capacity and increase value addition within the sector, Ecofin Agency reported.
As part of this push, Planning and Investment Minister Kitila Mkumbo began a six-day tour of key textile manufacturing centers in China from March 17 to March 22, 2026.
According to The Citizen, his itinerary includes meetings with industry players in Shanghai, Nantong, cities in Shandong province such as Jinan and Weihai, as well as Guangzhou.
“Our goal is to attract investors to add value to our raw materials and build a strong textile industry in the country. We are not just inviting investors to Tanzania; we are offering partnerships based on trust, stability, and shared prosperity. Tanzania is ready to become a major hub for textile manufacturing in Africa,” Kitila Mkumbo said.
The government has already designated the Shinyanga and Mara regions as priority areas for large-scale textile industrial development.
This outreach comes at a time when Tanzania’s textile sector continues to face significant decline, posing a challenge to the country’s broader industrialization agenda.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that textile production dropped from 53 million square meters in 2020 to 32 million in 2024, marking a contraction of nearly 40% over five years.
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Operational capacity within the industry has also shrunk considerably. The Tanzania Garment Manufacturers Association (Tegamat) reports that the number of active textile factories has fallen from 33 in 2017 to just three in 2025.
Industry stakeholders point to several structural issues behind this downturn. Tegamat highlights intense competition from imported second-hand clothing, limited availability and inconsistent quality of industrial cotton, and low productivity as major constraints.
“There is a widespread problem of tax evasion and smuggling through neighboring countries. Goods are diverted from transit routes and sold on our markets without paying duties. Some are even falsely declared in meters rather than kilograms to reduce taxes. The result is a market saturated with imported products, which prevents local factories from competing effectively. This forces them to cut back on production or close down,” said Adam Zuku, executive secretary of Tegamat, in comments to The Citizen last June.
These ongoing challenges may complicate efforts to attract and sustain new investment, making it essential for authorities to improve the sector’s competitiveness alongside their investor outreach.
Although Tanzania is East Africa’s leading producer of cotton, nearly 80% of its output is still exported in raw form, according to official figures.
Reviving the textile industry would allow the country to retain more value within its cotton supply chain, supporting its goal of using the sector as a key driver of industrialization and economic diversification.
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