Skilfully, the China dragons (as they are called in reference to their aggressive zeal) have entrenched themselves into the market, dominating nearly all facets by acting as suppliers, distributors and retailers. And it is even said that their success lies in their ability to imitate expensive brands and flood the market with cheaper and substandard products.
Abdullahi Wada, one of the shops owners who deals in blouses and veils in Kantin Kwari market told Sunday Trust that when he started trading in fabrics few years back, his shop was always stuffed with Indian and Pakistani made goods. But shortly afterwards, he joined the trend.
“All the wares in my shop presently are made in China,” he said. Wada explained his reason of dumping the Indian and Pakistani products to be associated with poor market prospects. “Initially, I was doing well selling the Indian and Pakistani goods, but not until the Chinese have discovered the acceptance of the products, went back to their country and produced similar but inferior wares,” he said.
Chinese cheaper goods
Where, for instance, the lowest grade of Indian made hijab for ladies sales for N5000, the highest grade of similar a brand, which is imitated by the Chinese, will cost N2,500, according to Wada. “Our people want cheap goods, so they rush the Chinese products and abandon other makes, that is how I stopped selling non-Chinese garments. And I’m not the first person to go that way,” he stated.
Ninety percent of the textile materials on sale at the market are made in China, the chairman of Kantin Kwari Market Association, Alhaji Jibril Mohammed, popularly called Liti Kul kul disclosed. The union leader however complained that instead of providing a better substitute for customers as it is believed, the Chinese are killing the sector and depriving Nigerians of quality goods.
Chinese kill indigenous textile business
He noted that the Chinese were behind the collapse of various indigenous textiles companies in Lagos. Prior to their close down, Liti Kul kul, said the companies like Nichen and 5-Star, used to be among the major suppliers of quality goods to the market. “Nichen was one of the best in the country, but the Chinese imitated their products and reduced the price from N3000, for example, to N1000 or less. In addition, they forged the company’s label to make their imitated products look real. That helped kill the indigenous company.”
In the past, he recalled, the market had hundreds of millionaire businessmen who could go to any part of the world to import goods. “I can tell you now that those who have N100 million before can hardly boast of N5 million,” he said. Their dwindled fortune was part of the consequences of penetration by the Chinese into the business.
“If you were a retailer, now you have been pushed aside. If you were an importer, the Chinese have vacated you from that position. If you have specialized in ordering goods, now they have taken over and if you were a distributor, now you must surely have got yourself something else to do. Effectively, one Chinese man can be the one to go and order and supply the goods, come back here and distribute and enter a shop and sell it one by one without involving one of our citizen’s. they are the only people doing that in the whole world,” he said.
Locals can’t directly import from China
He also accused the Chinese of preventing locals from directly importing textiles from China, arguing that “whereas in the past hundreds of our local businessmen go there to order and supply. Now you must go through their people here; you tell them the designs and whatever you want and they supply it for you,” he said.
But the baffling aspect of importing via Chinese men is that, when they are given a particular textile design by an indigenous dealer, they make sure they flood the market with the same colour and at cheaper rate, by the time the individual takes delivery of the goods, so that it becomes difficult for the trader to sell and make profit, it was alleged.
Yet many love the Chinese stuff
Some customers who spoke to our correspondent said they prefer Chinese products because they are cheap and affordable, even though they claimed to be aware that the goods are less durable compared to brands made in other countries. A would-be bridegroom, Mohammed Mohammed, who was seen shopping for his upcoming marriage, said he loves the China wares.
But another buyer, Usman Ahmad, says he patronizes the goods because he has no option, as almost all the shops have no stocks other than Chinese wares. He added that the materials are of inferior quality and lose their colour after just few laundries.
The domination of textile business by the China dragons does not stop at Kantin Kwari market. In Sabon Gari Market, another major trading hub in the city, dealers in English wares like jeans, shirts, neckties, T-shirts etc disclosed that Chinese products have substituted famous designers.
The traders revealed that in states like Lagos, from where they buy the goods, presence of Chinese goods is overwhelming. The manager of El Nino Group boutique in Sabon Gari, Mr. Ossai Thomas, said the products bring a lot of profits to them, as they are highly sought after because of their affordability.
Sunday Trust also learnt that apart from clothing, other accessories for clothes that are on sale all came from China. “From our hangers to even the dummies used in displaying the clothes all are made in China,” one of the dealers stated.
However, findings revealed that the importation of most of the substandard goods which the Chinese are accused of is done with the collaboration of some indigenous traders, who encourage or order the foreigners to supply them the goods. Similarly, industry sources state that, when Chinese exporters take their goods to other countries in Europe, they make sure the products meet the standard of the receiving nation, such that the people there don’t complain about fake or substandard goods.
Lack of proper checks as a factor
Another factor that is blamed for the influx of the products into Nigerian market is the absence of standard checks by relevant regulatory agencies in the country. “The Chinese give you whatever you tell them you want. If you want the best of qualities, they will produce it for you, all you need to do is give them the specifications. Likewise, if you ask them to do garment of inferior quality, they will comply,” stated Mr. Thomas.
He traced the origin of Chinese influx into the country to the days of Abacha regime, when the then military government entered trade agreement with and opened its doors to China in a bid to side step biting economic sanctions imposed by the West
So far, the physical presence of the Chinese men in textile business in Kano is restricted only to Kantin Kwari market, they have not penetrated Sabon Gari and other markets, even though their products have already flooded such places. However, fears are that, it is a matter of time before they conquer the markets and operate their shops by themselves.
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