In a meeting presided over by the Minister of Trade on March 27, operators in this sector were called upon to respect norms on the quality of their products.
Importers of textile products have been called upon to adhere to the norms stipulated in the Ministerial order number 00056 of 29th January 2019, signed by the Minister of Mines Industries and Technological Development, the order renders applicable Cameroonian norms on the quality of textiles. This order contains norms stipulating that, the use of toxic chemicals is formally prohibited in the manufacturing of textiles products like loincloths and linen.
It is also stipulated in this order that, all textile products sold on Cameroonian markets must be certified before consumption and all producers and importers have to own a conformity certificate before operating. The order equally states that, all textile products imported should respond to the ecological needs of the users.
Speaking during the event, the Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana told operators in this sector that plans are being made by officials of the Standards and Quality Control Agency (ANOR), to sensitize operators via media organs through advertorials and press conferences, after which, agents of the National Brigade for the Control and Repression of Fraud of the Ministry of Trade will be sent on the field to tract down recalcitrant importers who are not in conformity with these norms. This he noted will be done after effectively sensitizing and educating the operators on the importance of these norms.
Abja Yenoun Magne is a textile importer and the President of the Association of Textile Importers in Douala who thinks importers need to be educated more on the specificities of the said norms before sanctions begin. "We have head what the minister has said concerning the quality of textile products we have to import, we are going to conform to these norms. But we call on control teams while on the field to halt the seizures of our commodities and rather try to educate the operators more on the importance of adhering to these rules, because I can assure you many importers are ignorant of this order and its stipulations." She said.
On his part, the Director General of CICAM, Edouard Ebah Abada who doubles as the President of the Inter Professional Cotton-Textile- Leather Confection Association sited some of the textiles convenient for our ecology, since Cameroon is a humid country. He listed cotton, wax, leather, and polyester.
