Africa-Press – Eswatini. The manufacturing of textile and wearing apparel is projected to decline considering the deterioration in the terms of trade in the South Africa (SA) market.
In the Eswatini medium-term economic forecast (2023-26) statement, the Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Dr Tambo Gina, said the reason for the decline was that in SA, the protectionism policies were being implemented in the textile industry which would affect the demand of textile imports (Eswatini textile exports) into the SA market. The minister highlighted that in the eight months to August 2023, textile exports declined by 0.8 per cent, reflecting the weak external demand for these products. On the positive, the minister reported that following muted performance in 2022, the secondary sector was projected to recover and record 2.7 per cent in 2023, from a contraction of 0.4 per cent in 2022.
Supported
He said the rebound would be supported by the manufacturing and construction subsectors. He said the manufacturing subsector was forecasted to benefit from agro-processing (sugar, fruit canning, dairy and processing of wood and wood products) and other manufacturing mainly linked to construction activity. He added that construction activity was envisaged to recover in 2023. He said improvement in the government cashflow position would support acceleration in the implementation of existing projects, as well as the uptake of new projects. He noted that the projects included the ongoing projects under implementation include Lower Usuthu Small-holder Irrigation Project II (LUSIP II), International Convention Centre and Five Star Hotel (ICC-FSH), construction of factory shells and Nhlangano-Sicunusa road amongst others.
He said the new projects commencing in 2023 include the Multi-Billion Mkhondvo – Ngwavuma Water Augmented Program (MNWAP). Dr Gina said the first phase of MNWAP entailed the construction of the Mpakeni Dam and supporting infrastructures valued at approximately E2.890 billion. Other new projects include the construction of the parliament building (valued at E1.651 billion) and several private sector projects.
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
