Business 2 September 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Nytil's bedsheet production collapses amid surge in cheap Asian imports
Nytil, a historic Ugandan textile manufacturer, has seen its monthly bedsheet production plummet from 70,000 to just 2,000 units due to intense competition from inexpensive imports, primarily from China and India. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/nytil-monthly-bedsheet-production-plummets-to-2-000-as-cheap-asian-imports-flood-market-5580910
Nyanza Textile Industries (Nytil), once a leading textile manufacturer in East Africa, is facing severe challenges as its monthly bedsheet production has drastically fallen from a peak of 70,000 pieces to a mere 2,000.
Nytil Chairman Kishor Jobanputra revealed this decline during a government delegation visit, attributing the crisis to unfair competition from imported finished and semi-finished goods. He stated that trade loopholes allow foreign products, often misclassified as raw materials, to undercut local manufacturers who process goods from start to finish.
Mr. Jobanputra urged the government to re-evaluate the taxation and customs classification of textile imports to level the playing field for domestic producers.
In response, Amina Mukalazi, the State Minister for Investment and Privatization, assured Nytil’s management that the government is actively working to protect local industries. She indicated that the issue would be a priority in an upcoming joint stakeholder meeting focused on the trade sector.
The struggles at Nytil highlight the difficulties facing Uganda’s manufacturing sector, even with the government’s Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BUBU) policy in place since 2017. Trade data indicates that a significant portion of Uganda’s bed linen demand is still met by imports, with China being a major supplier.
Founded in 1954 in Jinja, Nytil (formerly Nyanza Textile Industries) was a significant player in the region’s textile landscape. Despite privatization in 1996 and efforts to revive its manufacturing capabilities, the company emphasizes the need for structural tariff protection to sustain Uganda’s textile industry.