Madagascar: growth in the textile sector between industrialization and traditional know-how
Last week, several French media reported that the French army had awarded a contract to manufacture military uniforms in Madagascar. While this contract is denounced in France as a loss of jobs for French workers, the news is perceived differently on the Big Island. The contract won by one of the flagships of the Malagasy textile industry testifies to the dynamism of this sector, which plays a key role in the Malagasy economy. Beyond its role as a simple subcontractor, Madagascar is establishing itself as a center of textile innovation, capable of meeting the demands of international markets while promoting its local know-how.
In 2024, the Madagascan subsidiary of the family-owned French Paul Boyé Group won the Ministry of the Armed Forces' tender to equip French soldiers stationed in France. Its bid, judged more competitive than that of French company Marck & Balsan (26 million euros before tax versus 70 million euros), should reduce costs for the French taxpayer.
The award of this contract was confirmed by the Versailles Administrative Court, following an appeal by Marck & Balsan. The latter deplored the loss of 66 jobs at its Calais site. However, Paul Boyé Technologies refutes any direct link between this loss and the award of the contract, pointing out that Marck & Balsan had also won "at its expense" a much larger contract worth 420 million euros to supply uniforms for the police and gendarmerie. The company said in a press release last week that the tender was based on a variety of criteria, with price accounting for only 40% of the final score, highlighting its innovation and logistics capabilities.
" Paul Boyé Technologies has undertaken to ensure that 90% of the added value and part of the production will be carried out in France, at their plant in the south of France. es en France, dans leur usine de Labarthe-sur-Lèze en Haute-Garonne, qui emploie 200 salariés ", says the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, reassuringly.
Madagascar, a booming textile hub
Present on the island for over three decades, Paul Boyé operates several factories employing nearly a thousand people. Like dozens of other companies, the French group has chosen to place its trust in a know-how that has for many years been the pride of Madagascar, contributing to the development of its industrial fabric. Today, the country is the leading exporter of textile products from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe.
Madagascar is now the leading exporter of textile products from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe, and the second largest to the USA.
According to an April 2023 report published by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), the Grande Ile earned $406 million in revenue in 2022, thanks to its AGOA clothing shipments to the USA. This is a significant increase on the $283 million generated a year earlier, when the sector was struggling to cope with the coronavirus crisis.
By 2022, Madagascar will be the second-largest supplier of apparel to the United States in sub-Saharan Africa, second only to Kenya in the region. Clothing and textile products account for 19.35% of Madagascar's GDP, as well as 7% of foreign direct investment, as the International Labour Organization points out in a 2023 report. Only the mining sector attracts more foreign investment to Madagascar than the textile industry.
This dynamism has enabled the Malagasy textile industry to position itself as the Grande Ile's largest employer, after agriculture. It is also the country's leading manufacturing sector, with over 400,000 jobs. Around half of these jobs are located in the export processing zones (EPZs) on the outskirts of the capital Antananarivo and the town of Antsirabe, some 160 km from the capital.
This dynamism has enabled the Malagasy textile industry to position itself as the Grande Ile's largest employer, after agriculture. It is also the country's leading manufacturing sector, with over 400,000 jobs.
These free trade zones, created in the 1990s, have played a key role in the sector's growth. Companies operating factories in these zones benefit from duty-free access to several destinations, thanks to preferential agreements between the Big Island and major apparel consumer markets.This is the case, for example, under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Malagasy seamstresses are renowned for their meticulous craftsmanship and heritage.
Added to this is a skilled and inexpensive workforce, which has helped attract several Italian and French ready-to-wear brands to the Big Island. According to IMF data, a Malagasy textile worker earned an average of $48 per month in 2022. For the same job, a worker in Bangladesh earns $83 a month, while a worker in China earns $194. According to the US Agency for International Trade, this has prompted Asian manufacturers to relocate to the island to take advantage of these favorable conditions.
Craftsmanship at the heart of Madagascar's textile identity
Today, the Malagasy sector has the assets to cover all stages of the textile and clothing production chain, from the cultivation of natural fibers, which employs over 50,000 workers, to the manufacture of finished garments.This value chain relies in part on small hands, notably school apron seamstresses known for their meticulous craftsmanship and heritage.
The industrial development of the textile sector in Madagascar has not led to the disappearance of market seamstresses, known as "Mpanao zaitra an-tsena".
The industrial development of the textile sector in Madagascar has not led to the disappearance of the market seamstresses known as "Mpanao zaitra an-tsena". Their "fairy fingers" are particularly well known for embroidering smocks, an ancient traditional garment worn by English peasants and now a speciality of the island. The craft industry employs over 3 million people in the country, more than half of whom work in clothing and accessories.
Preserving this know-how to keep the sector dynamic
Despite the modernization of the textile sector and the rise of large garment manufacturers, artisanal seamstresses are benefiting from various initiatives designed to preserve their know-how and ensure their integration into the local economy. The Malagasy authorities, in collaboration with international organizations and private investors, are setting up training and support programs to help these workers improve their competitiveness. Such is the case with the calls for projects regularly launched by the Malagasy Vocational Training Fund.
At the same time, projects to structure the craft sector, particularly in the Antananarivo and Antsirabe markets, aim to provide these women with sustainable economic outlets. These initiatives are part of a wider drive to enhance the value of local production and encourage the consumption of artisanal products, while guaranteeing more stable working conditions for these key players in Madagascar's textile economy.
Source: www.agenceecofin.com/
