Chaînes de valeur Chine-Togo : les nanettes et le commerce des tissus africains imprimés

Résumé

Until recently, the norm for global trade flows was largely North-South. However, from the early 2000’s, global trade has shifted. Global North trade has declined while South-South trade has risen and today surpasses N-S trade. Whether a direct effect of Bandung or not, it is certainly in the spirit and follows the vision of Bandung. This paper focuses on one such shift, that of the African Print Textile (APT) trade in Togo.  My focus is on the APT trade between China and Togo, as a way of exploring the nature of South-South trade today. From the mid-colonial period onwards, the African print textile trade was dominated by a North-South value chain (NSVC), involving production in the Netherlands for distribution and consumption in West Africa and with Togolese ‘Nana-Benz’ traders playing a key role. Yet the dynamics of APT trade have changed in the 21^st century as APT manufacturing has shifted to China as part of a South-South value chain (SSVC). Drawing on primary fieldwork in Lomé, Togo, long a hub of APT distribution in West Africa, I analyse the emergence of the SSVC and its characteristics – including the involvement of a newer group of Togolese traders known as Nanettes in a more flexible, trader-driven trade. I argue that the rise of the SSVC has disrupted the monopoly of the lead firm-governed NSVC, which has not been completely replaced, but forced to adapt. The case contributes to emerging discussions of SSVCs, which are mostly focused on opportunities for producers serving new forms of consumption, by showing how SSVCs challenge NSVCs within long-standing Southern end markets and by demonstrating the crucial and changing roles of traders in this context.