Mr Gilles Moisan, Managing Director of Juapong Textiles Limited (JTL), on Tuesday announced that the company's maiden consignment of about 100,000 yards of grey-baft (Cotton) has been exported to VLISCO, a Dutch textile manufacturing company.

He said VLISCO, which has 62.75 percent shares in JTL, belongs to the Gamma Holdings of Holland and is listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.

Mr Moisan was briefing Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Region Minister, during a visit to the textiles factory to familiarise himself with its operations.

He said about four million yards of the material would be exported to Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Niger and South Africa for the manufacture of industrial textiles, exotic fabrics and interior decorations.

Mr Moisan said about 12 million dollars has so far been spent since 1998 on repair works, replacement and rehabilitation of obsolete equipment and the upgrading of skills of staff.

"JTL can compete on the international market provided it maintains its quality and quantity of materials since the competition from the Far Eastern countries is stiff."

He appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to offer financial support to cotton farmers to produce more to feed the industry since uncoordinated approaches would lead to smuggling of the produce into neighbouring countries.

Mr J.K. van Baaren, Technical Director of JTL, said the factory, with a production capacity of 24 million yards per annum, is operating at about 65 percent capacity. He said government has 24.5 percent shares in the factory while Freedom Textiles of Hong Kong had 12.75 percent.

Mr Kofi Bayitse, Director of Human Resource of the factory told the Minister that management-worker relationship has improved tremendously and all were working as partners towards the sustenance of the factory.

He said the company is providing potable drinking water to the community.

Mr Owusu-Yeboa commended management and workers for maintaining a high standard and appealed to them to sustain it in order to compete on the international market, create employment and wealth for the people and the nation at large.

He called for hard work, transparency and accountability in their operations and asked them to maintain dialogue and shun confrontation when labour issues occur.