Paper short abstract:

The paper explores textile value chain governance in West Africa, suggesting that trader-governed chains are better adapted to volatile South markets than those directed by lead firms. It also argues that trader-run chains were resilient and resourceful in responding to COVID-19.

Paper long abstract:

African print textile (APT) value chains have a long history in West Africa. First introduced by the Dutch during the colonial period, APT soon became special-occasion (then everyday) wear for a majority of West Africans. Today APT popularity continues, although China has recently replaced the Netherlands as the chief manufacturer of this cloth. This paper explores the way in which the APT market in West Africa is being restructured with the rise of China in a context of shifting North-South and South-South value chains in the cloth markets of Lomé, Togo, long a hub of APT distribution for the larger sub-region. The article uses GVC analysis to examine the structure of these competing value chains, one vertically integrated and lead-firm directed, the other fragmented and trader-governed, and to explore their intersection. Analytically, it focuses on value chain governance within a context of South-South value chain ascendancy, arguing that trader-centered governance, a governance regime attuned to the volatility of trade in the global South, has distinct advantages over lead firms. The presentation concludes by examining the response of APT value chains to the COVID-19 pandemic, one that reveals trader-run value chains as resilient and resourceful while also offering further advantage to Chinese (South-South) APT chains