Ghana is in talks with Benin to secure
cotton supplies, President John Dramani Mahama said on Thursday, July 16.
According to local media reports, the negotiations are part of a plan to revive Volta Star Textiles Limited, a
textile mill in Juapong, in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region.
“Arrangements are being made to sign a memorandum of understanding with the government of Benin to supply cotton for the factory,” Mahama said.
Efforts to Revive a Historic Textile Mill
Established in 1968 as Juapong Textiles Limited, the mill became Volta Star Textiles Limited (VSTL) in 2007 after it was taken over by the Ghanaian government. The Juapong facility was long a pillar of Ghana’s textile industry. It specialized in producing gray baft, an unfinished cotton fabric supplied to textile processors, and ranked among the country’s largest spinning and weaving facilities.
At its peak, the mill had an estimated annual production capacity of about 26 million yards, or nearly 24 million meters, of fabric. It also created jobs and supported businesses across the cotton, transport and services sectors.
However, the company gradually lost competitiveness because of aging equipment, financial difficulties and competition from imported textiles. After several attempts to revive it, the mill shut down in July 2023 because of energy-related debt and operational inefficiencies, according to Ghana’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The Ghanaian government now hopes to restart the mill. It says it has selected an investor, whose identity has not been disclosed, to take over the facility and is seeking cotton supplies from Benin as part of the revival plan.
A New Market for Beninese Cotton
Although potential trade volumes have not been disclosed, the proposed agreement could provide Benin with an additional export market and increase its export earnings.
Data compiled by the National Institute of Statistics show that Benin exported nearly 200,000 metric tons of uncarded or uncombed cotton in 2025, generating CFA223.5 billion ($398 million) in revenue. Its main export markets included Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China and the United Arab Emirates.
If an agreement is reached, it could boost Benin’s cotton exports. The country also expects seed-cotton production to increase during the current season. The sector’s latest projections forecast an 8% rise, bringing the harvest to 700,000 metric tons in the 2026/27 season.
The plan to source cotton from Benin also underscores the difficulties Ghana’s cotton industry faces in supplying its domestic textile sector at scale. Ghana’s seed-cotton production remained at around 28,000 metric tons annually between 2020 and 2024, according to FAO data.
