Assistant U.S Trade Representative, Florizelle Liser refered to one of the Hub sponsored companies, Phenix Logistics of Uganda, in her opening remarks at the Central Africa AGOA Regional Workshop held in Douala, Cameroon at the end of February, “There are signs that African apparel makers are making a comeback. Last week I attended a major apparel show in Las Vegas and was impressed by how many buyers were making enquiries with African producers, including a Ugandan company that has begun to export T-shirt made of 100% organic Ugandan cotton”.

The ECA Hub sponsored 10 textile and apparel companies to exhibit at the recent Sourcing at MAGIC apparel trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, February 13-16. The trade show provided an ideal platform in which to demonstrate the capabilities and unique products of African apparel exporters. African apparel exports to the U.S have been in decline in recent times and especially on expiration of the 3rd party.

Phenix Logistics was making its first major shipment of apparel, 50,000 organic cotton t-shirts, to the U.S. market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in February 2007. Phenix has spun the fabric for the shirts from cotton yarn, the first time Ugandan cotton has been used to make fabric for an AGOA apparel export.

Other ECA Hub success mentioned in Douala included Congo’s – Honey wine; Kenya’s - fresh-cut flowers and apparel; Rwanda’s - peace baskets .

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