Swiss textile gets low patronage from Nigeria

 Culled from BusinessDay Newspaper of 28/12/012

Textile sellers in Switzerland have expressed concern over low patronage by Nigerians, especially in the month of December,a market survey showed on Friday in Bern.
Nigeria is Switzerland’s largest market in fabrics such as Swiss lace, and Filtex among others.

Abdullahi Isah, President of Nigerians in Diaspora (NIDO) Switzerland, said that some Swiss textile merchants complained of low patronage, which he said they described as unusual especially during festive seasons.

Isah said the quality of Swiss fabrics had made its textiles very popular among Nigerians, thereby boosting trade relations between the two countries.

He noted that with the ban on importation of Hollandais, if Nigerian textile companies could improve on their quality of the local fabrics to become more attractive, it would be well patronised.

He urged government officials to promote indigenous companies by patronising them, rather than buying foreign textiles.

A visit to St. Gallen, a popular Swiss textile city, saw most shops closed for business following the Christmas holidays.

With an annual trade volume of over 200 million dollars, Nigeria imports mainly machinery, chemical, textile and pharmaceutical products from Switzerland, on the other hand, Switzerland imports crude oil from Nigeria.

(NAN)