Nigeria’s textile, apparel and footwear industry remained in contraction for a sixth consecutive quarter in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the textile, apparel and footwear subsector contracted by 1.23 percent year-on-year in real terms in Q2 2026, following a 1.22 percent decline in the first quarter.
The latest contraction means the industry has failed to record real year-on-year growth in any quarter since the beginning of 2025.
The NBS data showed that the sector contracted by 1.63 percent in Q1 2025, 1.32 percent in Q2, 2.41 percent in Q3 and 2.68 percent in Q4.
The decline continued into 2026 with output shrinking 1.22 percent in the first quarter and another 1.23 percent in the second quarter.
The persistent weakness contrasts with the performance of Nigeria’s broader manufacturing industry.
Manufacturing expanded by 3.24 percent in real terms in Q2 2026, more than double the 1.60 percent growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, although slightly below the 3.29 percent recorded in Q1 2026.
At constant 2019 prices, textile, apparel and footwear output fell to N947.45 billion in Q2 2026 from N959.29 billion in Q2 2025.
This represents a reduction of approximately N11.84 billion in real economic output over the one-year period.
The industry’s contribution to Nigeria’s real GDP consequently declined to 1.77 percent in Q2 2026 from 1.87 percent in the corresponding period of 2025.
Its share was also lower than the 2.26 percent contribution recorded in the first quarter of 2026.
The latest numbers show that textiles have not participated in the broader improvement recorded across several segments of Nigerian manufacturing.
Oil refining emerged as the fastest-growing manufacturing activity in Q2, expanding 43.94 percent in real terms, while cement production grew 12.75 percent.
Chemical and pharmaceutical products expanded 7.70 percent, wood and wood products grew 3.33 percent, and food, beverage and tobacco increased 2.79 percent.
Textiles were one of only two manufacturing activities to record negative real growth during the quarter.
Motor vehicles and assembly contracted by 1.02 percent, while textile, apparel and footwear declined 1.23 percent.
Other manufacturing, which had contracted 0.71 percent in Q1, returned to growth of 1.27 percent in Q2, while plastic and rubber products recovered from a 2.86 percent contraction to expand 1.52 percent.
The divergence indicates that the improvement in Nigeria’s manufacturing GDP remains uneven, with stronger growth concentrated in selected industries while textiles and vehicle assembly continue to struggle.
In nominal terms, the textile industry’s performance was also weak.
Textile, apparel and footwear contracted 0.49 percent year-on-year at current prices in Q2 2026, compared with a marginal 0.15 percent expansion in Q1.
The subsector had also recorded a 0.03 percent nominal contraction in Q2 2025.
Its nominal contribution to GDP fell sharply to 1.26 percent in Q2 2026 from 1.50 percent a year earlier and 2.22 percent in Q1 2026.
The weakness came despite a substantial acceleration in nominal manufacturing output overall.
Nigeria’s manufacturing sector recorded nominal growth of 35.55 percent in Q2 2026, compared with just 4.51 percent in the corresponding quarter of 2025 and 10.22 percent in Q1 2026.
The NBS report does not explain the causes of the six-quarter contraction in textiles or attribute the performance to specific factors affecting manufacturers.
It therefore does not establish whether the decline resulted from production costs, energy supply, imports, foreign exchange conditions, consumer demand or other pressures confronting textile producers.
What the GDP figures show is a sustained decline in inflation-adjusted textile production at a time when the wider manufacturing sector has returned to stronger growth.
With six consecutive quarters of negative real growth from Q1 2025 through Q2 2026, textiles stand out as one of the most persistent weak spots within Nigeria’s manufacturing economy.
