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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ETHIOPIA-CHINA TRADITIONAL CLOTHING
HEADLINE: Businesses in Ethiopian Traditional Clothing Market Say Chinese Competition is Unfair
TEASER: They say cheaper clothing made by Chinese manufacturers is driving them out of work
PUBLISHED:
BYLINE: Kennedy Abate
DATELINE: ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
VIDEOGRAPHER: Kennedy Abate
VIDEO EDITOR: Kennedy Abate
SCRIPT EDITORS: Salem Solomon, KEnochs, DLJ
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS: WEB __TV X RADIO X
TRT: 2:42
APPROVED BY: KE
EDITOR NOTES: All SOTs have been introduced so it works for radio. For questions and final review, send it back to Africa Division’s senior editor, Salem Solomon, email: salemsolomon@voanews.com, Africa Division’s executive producer, Betty Ayoub, email: bayoub@voanews.com. Style note: Eritrean and Ethiopian names go by the first name on the second reference.))
((INTRO))
[[Businesses in the Ethiopian traditional clothing market say cheaper garments made by Chinese manufacturers is driving them out of work. Kennedy Abate has this report from the capital Addis Ababa, narrated by Vincent Makori.]]
((NARRATION))
This is Shiro Meda market in Ethiopia’s capital city, Addis Ababa. Most shops here sell Ethiopian traditional clothes that are made of woven cotton. Business owners say they earned a decent income until Chinese companies started producing similar items made of chiffon.
Meron Asrat is the owner of a traditional dress shop in Shiro Meda. She says the competition is unfair.
[[Radio Track: She says the market has been so frustrating. She doesn't have new buyers except for some of her customers. The chiffons manufactured in China can’t be a replacement for traditional clothes, but people are buying cheaper ones, which she says is slowing down business.]]
((Meron Asrat, Trader) ((Female, in Amharic))
“There are no new buyers except for some of my own customers. The chiffons manufactured in China can’t be a replacement for our traditional clothes. But people are moving towards the cheaper ones from an economic point of view.”
((NARRATION))
Jamil Taha Abdu has a shop next door. He says Chinese-manufactured clothes are hurting the market because of the price difference compared with clothes that are handmade locally.
[[Radio Track: He says the Chinese clothes are made from foreign fabrics, but the printout design was taken from Ethiopia. Because Chinese clothes are three or four times cheaper, he says, they can’t compete with them. And people want to spend where there’s a discount because life is a little difficult now.]]
((Jamil Taha, Trader)) ((Male, in Amharic))
“It will be three or four times cheaper. We cannot compete with them. And people want to spend where there’s a discount because life is a little difficult now.”
((NARRATION))
Jamil said the clothes imported from China have created an uneven playing field in the market. But to stay in business, he says that he has started selling Chinese clothes as well.
[[Radio track: He says they spent so much time without sleep designing, then in a week the Chinese products flooded the market. That means businesses can’t compete with them. He says businesses end up being prisoners against their will. So, they sell Chinese products and keep theirs too.]]
((Jamil Taha, Trader)) ((Male, in Amharic))
“We spent so much time without sleep on designing, then in a week the Chinese products flooded the market. That means you can’t compete with them. So, you become a prisoner against your will.”
((NARRATION))
Endashash Wube, a customer, says price is what makes shoppers turn to Chinese clothes. Here, she bought a traditional “Netela,” or handmade scarf-like clothing made of cotton.
[[Radio track: She says she bought it for $18 or 1,000 Birr. She says the price of Chinese-made chiffon is better, although Ethiopian traditional clothes are better in quality.]]
((Endashash Wube, Shopper)) ((Female, in Amharic))
“... the price of Chinese-made chiffon is better. But the quality of Ethiopian traditional clothes is better.”
((NARRATION))
Birknesh Sugebo, another customer, shares Endashash’s sentiments.
[[Radio track: She says she came here to buy traditional clothes to send to other places. But it is very expensive. The Chinese counterfeit product is cheap and lower in terms of quality than what's woven by hand, she adds. But because of the cheaper price, people buy those counterfeit products.]]
((Birknesh Sugebo, Shopper)) ((Female, in Amharic))
“I came here to buy traditional clothes to send to other places. But it is very expensive. The Chinese counterfeit product is cheap and lower in terms of quality than what's woven by hand. But because of the cheaper price, people buy those counterfeit products.”
((NARRATION))
Some business owners are asking the government to provide protection for traditional clothing weavers, garment makers, sellers and other Ethiopians involved in the traditional clothing market.
(((For Kennedy Abate, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Vincent Makori, VOA News.))
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