The endemic smuggling of pirated textiles across the Aflao border is rapidly pushing the textile industry in the country over a cliff. B&FT investigations along the Aflao border revealed that the trade is booming and shows no sign of abating. Numerous holes, referred to as ‘beats’ by the smugglers, created in the wire fencing that separates Ghana and Togo to serve as smuggling routes have been created to facilitate the smuggling of textiles and other goods into Ghana. Business people in the Togolese capital, Lome, import large quantities of pirated textiles from China. These importers have a ready market in Ghana, and some Ghanaian traders even place orders for a specific quantity to be imported on their behalf via Togo. There are many ‘beats’ which are typically used by smugglers aided by locals and customs officials manning these illegal entry points. Locals have formed groups that assist traders’ to smuggle large quantities of pirated textiles across the border for a fee. The groups work closely with custom officials assigned to secure these points. Typically, for a small-size travelling bag Togolese officials charged FCFA 1,250 while the Ghanaian conspirators charged GH¢10; the amount varies depending on the size of the bag and the quantity of clothes. In other instances, customs officials on the Ghana side of the border openly assess smugglers’ goods to determine how much they will have to pay. “There are about 15 ‘beats’ along this border [Aflao border]; it will be difficult to stop it, especially with the connivance of the locals. Revenue due government is lost, an official of the security agencies stationed at the border told the B&FT. “The locals accommodate the smugglers in their homes; they act as informants and assist smugglers to escape the security authorities,” he said. Checks by the B&FT at the ‘Ashigame’ market in Lome revealed that textiles imported from China which bear the designs of two textile companies in Ghana cost as low as FCFA 3,000 -- an equivalent of GH¢12 -- for six yards. The cheap price of these goods as well as the easy and low cost of smuggling is the recipe for the booming trade. The sale of pirated textiles has become the bane of the textile industry in the country. From over 40 textile firms that employed more than 25,000 people in the last two decades, the country now has only four textile factories employing less than 4,000 people. The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has said it is not against the importation of fabrics so far as they are not faked in terms of design, brand-name and other characteristics. The president of the AGI, Nana Owusu-Afari, has earlier said that the textile industry is reeling under the influx of pirated local textile designs with very low prices compared to locally produced wax-prints with similar designs. Pirated wax-prints have also copied labels of the Ghana Standards Board. The illegal business has in recent years led to the retrenchment of many textile workers while some local manufacturers have had to diversify their businesses. The Joint Anti Piracy Task Force against pirated textile prints, instituted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), and local textile manufacturers have in recent times increased their operations and efforts to seize pirated wax-prints from various markets nationwide as a way to curb the menace of imported pirated textiles. The task force has also indicated its preparedness to ensure that persons engaged in such nefarious activities are brought to book, and also publicly destroy pirated textiles that may be seized. Ghana Standards Authority officials say pirated textiles imported from China contain 28 chemicals that have been banned all over the world. “To be able to stop this trade along the Aflao border, we need to construct concrete walls with barbed wire to keep out illegal migrants and textile smugglers,” the source said.