JEANS IN AFRICA - COUNTRY ANALYSIS

Northern Africa is an area of big jeans production, mainly for EU market.
Countries like Morroco, Algerie, Tunisia, Egypt are examples of countries where jeans production is well extended.

Morroco has a population of around 32 million people. Per capita income is around 3100 USD per year.Its geographical location is an important factor for its expansion in the textile sector in general. Many European companies have moved operations in areas such as Tangier or Casablanca. French, Spanish, Italian and British companies have shifted their manufacturing units from Europe to Morroco. Companies are well equipped with the latest technological advances in the finishing and stitching production areas.


Textiles and clothing comprise Morocco’s largest export base.
France remains the largest consumer of Moroccan textile-clothing products, alongside a rapidly increasing Spanish market share.


Around 1700 companies represent more than 40% of the industrial workforce and generate USD 2.7 billion in export revenue. All facets of the industry, from spinning and weaving to cutting, assembly, production and distribution are represented.



 Potential and Advantages of Morroco for jeans industry

• Proximity to Europe
• Production period
   well suited to JIT
• Extensive support
   industries
• Extensive international
   experience and partnerships
• Trade facilitated with
   Europe and the US through trade agreements
• Good logistics and supply networks
• Quality of production and workforce




Some of the companies that make jeans in Morroco are: Ricotex,Aryan´s,Papman, Bermaille, etc.

The challenges for Morroco are unique. The country has to compete with Asian jeans fashion producers. Certainly its geographical location is a key fact for their future success, not mention the need for improving their denim fabric manufacturing base. The key for Morroco will be to improve delivery time. There are companies that are already delivering jeans in 20 days provided that fabric is in stock. In terms of fashion items, Morroco and staff together with expats do have good knowleadge of how to deliver value added jeans. European brands take for granted that products in Morroco are more expensive than Asia but they are willing to pay for it as long as they can delivered quicker and quicker. In future trends will be coming and going even faster than today, so Morroco can grab this niche easier than anybody else.

Education of the local workforce will also be a key factor for future development. Textile university education needs to be improved and local government should develop more education centers in partnership with top textile schools in Spain, Italy or France.