Textiles anchors 53% jump in AGOA exports

Textiles contributed 87 percent of AGOA exports last year
Textiles contributed 87 percent of AGOA exports last year

Botswana exports to the United States under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) increased by over 50 percent between January and November 2014.

According to the statistics from US Department of Commerce, exports to US under AGOA increased 53 percent from $5.5 million (P52 million) to $8.5 million (P80 million) in the first 11 months of the year, mainly on the back of increase in textile and apparel.

In the period, total exports to the US, which were dominated by mostly diamonds, increased 16 percent from $246.3 million to $286.4 million. While Botswana is empowered to export 6,500 products under AGOA, textiles have benefited the most, being easy to establish with a relatively low cost of labour.

Editor's Comment
BPF should get house in order

Speaker of the National Assembly, Dithapelo Keorapetse, has this week rightly washed his hands of the mess, refusing to wade into a party squabble that has no clear leadership and no single version of the truth.When a single party sends six different letters to the Speaker’s office, each claiming to be the authoritative voice, it is not just confusion, but an embarrassment.Keorapetse is correct to insist on institutional boundaries. Parliament...

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