Textile: Beware of the informal sector within the formal sector!
The textile-garment industry is caught between the informal sector, counterfeiting, and smuggling. But it is necessary to distinguish between the informal imports, that is to say smuggling, and the informal production, says Anass El Ansari, president of the Moroccan Association of the Textile and Garment Industries (Amith).
Another disturbing observation is the proliferation of counterfeit products identical to the originals of major brands (Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, La Martina, Boss, Lacoste, Massimo Dutti, and other brands). This statement of the president of Amith took place, on the sidelines of the National Industry Day, held recently in Casablanca in the presence of many ministers and of the Head of Government. Taking the floor during the panel entitled: «Made in Morocco and local integration», Anass El Ansari recalled that the current inflationary context means that orders and sales are made in dribs and drabs. At the same time, inventory levels are so high that clients are suspending purchase orders. The president of the Amith also addressed the issue of the proliferation of the phenomenon of informal production, which operates insidiously via small clandestine units, makeshift workshops in basements, garages, and houses, warehouses in outlying districts, and other locations. The observation today, according to many operators, is that the informal phenomenon has increased. In addition, the grey economy is accelerating sharply in all sectors. This is a general trend! But the textile activity remains by far the most affected by the pockets of informal production. Even if there are no official statistics that provide information on the extent of the grey economy, the latest estimates by textile professionals talk of more than 150,000 units, that is to say as many entities and thousands of tons of products that spiral out of any control and escape the claw of the taxman. “Certainly, it will be necessary to put in place incentives to attract the informal to the formal. But at the same time, the Government is called upon to multiply inspections and to sanction the incompliant stakeholders”, insists the president of Amith. Otherwise, impunity will have a multiplier, if not accelerator, effect on units operating illegally. At the same event, Ahmed Réda Chami, president of the CESE (Economic, Social, and Environmental Council) was categorical. In response to a question on how to fight the grey economy, Chami is categorical: “One must apply the legislation stricto sensu. It is as simple as that”. According to the president of Amith , there are worse things than the small sweatshops: “the most worrying thing is the informal sector within the formal sector, with structured companies that switch to the grey economy”. In other words, here are companies, even groups, that are at the crossroads of the formal and the informal, with undeclared employees, fraud in tax declarations, and other violations.
Amin RBOUB
