Net makers afforded scant protective cover

Global market can make life tough for local manufacturers.  Logic would suggest that A to Z Textile Mills is a company in the right place at the right time. This family-owned enterprise on the western outskirts of Arusha in northern Tanzania is one of the largest makers of long-lasting insecticidal bed nets in Africa, where 90 per cent of such nets are found.  Yet, despite being nearer to the main market than most of its competitors and a buoyant demand, Kalpesh Shah, one of the directors, says the company in the past year had to lay off almost 600 of the 4,500 staff who make the nets. This is thanks to fierce competition with companies manufacturing elsewhere in the world, particularly east Asia.  The majority of the world’s mosquito net business is funded by donors such as western aid agencies. But most offer tenders based on the price at the point of dispatch from the factory without taking into account delivery costs, which are borne by manufacturers. Mr. Shah ...