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Despite the rain pelting Balogun market in Lagos, Ajoke takes her time choosing the tie-dye fabric known as adire that she wants to give as a gift. The popular textile traditionally dyed with indigo is emblematic of the culture of the Yoruba people, one of Nigeria’s majority ethnic groups. The cloth is typically used for traditional outfits often worn by Nigerians for special occasions, weddings and parties.

The 21-year-old customer slides her fingers over different brightly colored fabrics to distinguish traditional Nigerian cotton from polyester versions made in China. “It’s not expensive,” Ajoke remarked, picking up a Chinese-made fabric with purple patterns. It costs 3,300 naira (around $2.



20), half the price of a locally produced fabric. As Africa’s most populous nation grapples with high inflation that has left many struggling, Chinese counterfeit adire products have become an attractive option. But the imported textiles are challenging the long-established clothing industry in Nigeria, producers and traders say.

The southwestern city of Abeokuta -- nicknamed the Capital of Adire -- is home to nearly 2,000 merchants and producers, according to government data. Somodale Akomo Amosa, 86, president of the city’s sprawling adire market, said she had watched helplessly as Chinese competition began about 10 years ago. “Her income has decreased over the years.

She has only sold five fabrics in 10 days,” one of Amosa’s daughters said. Competition and crisis Ad.

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