Blog

Weaving in Sudan

The textile industry is an old industry in Sudan. It started as a traditional rural household industry (also

known as mitrar), and it relied on imported yarn to produce furad (traditional clothes). The first textile

factory in Sudan was established with private capital in 1945 in the city of Anzara located in the

Equatoria state, it planned to produce 4-5 million yards. The textile industry developed in Sudan with

the establishment of the Sudanese Textile Factory (private sector) in 1962, followed by the

establishment of a number of other factories.

The Sudanese textile industry is dependant on the cotton crop, which was cultivated in the region a long

time ago. The fabric is formed by intertwining two sets of longitudinal and transverse threads with each

other at a right angle usually. A variety of textile techniques are used in accordance with different raw

materials and thread sizes, following precise and detailed specifications, in the light of which the desired

final shape of the fabric is produced. The warp is the threads of the fabric that extend longitudinally, the

weft is the threads of the fabric that extend transversally.

The loom is a manually or mechanically operated machine used in weaving the fabric. It basically

consists of parts by which the warp and weft thread groups can intertwine with each other to form the

woven (fabric).

There are three important compounds in woven fabrics: 1/ Plain, an examples of which is taffeta, total,

and poplin. 2/ Atlas, examples of which would be satin and organza. 3/Twill, for example jeans and

gabardine fabric.

The Sudanese textile industry did not have the appropriate conditions to grow and develop, so the

Sudanese textile factories did not operate at their full capacity except for few rare occasions. The

industry continued to deteriorate and decay to the point that it was about to disappear completely.

The reasons behind this deterioration were the high costs of production, low productivity, low quality of

the cotton grown in Sudan, the lack of interconnectedness between cotton cultivation and the textile

industry, the lack of attention paid to opening the markets necessary for the success and continuity of

this industry, in addition to foreign investors' reluctance to invest in this sector.

On the other hand, the continuous deterioration of the Gezira Scheme and the different unorganized

agricultural policies led to a significant decline in cotton cultivation and the textile industry. On top of

these problems is the problem of irrigation water, repairing its canals, the Gezira Scheme infrastructure

rehabilitation, and the slowdown that accompanied the raising of the Roseires Dam.