Burkina’s Sofitex gets €100mn loan for cotton campaign

The Burkinabe Textile Fibre Company (Sofitex), the largest cotton firm of Western African country of Burkina Faso has received a grant of €100 million (approx 65 million CFA francs) from an international banking syndicate, as funding for its next cotton campaign in the upcoming harvest season.   courtesy: Embassy of Burkina Faso in Paris According to a statement issued by the Embassy of Burkina Faso in Paris, the loan agreement was signed between Sofitex and the international banking pool, led by HSBC bank, recently at the Embassy of Burkina Faso in Paris.   The agreement is the 23rd financial assistance received by Sofitex for its cotton campaign, and would allow the company to pay Burkina’s cotton growers quickly and prepare for next cotton harvest season.    Jean Paul Sawadogo, director general of the Sofitex, said the signing of the agreement demonstrates the confidence of our financial partners, including the international banking syndicate.   Jean-Francois Lambert, managing director of HSBC raw materials division, said this is the largest offshore funding Sofitex has received since the 2006-07 cotton campaign season, and would allow Burkina Faso to become the largest producer of cotton in the African region.   The international banking syndicate comprised of seven banks, namely: HSBC, Societe Generale, BHF Bank, BMCE Bank International, DZ Bank, FIMBank, and Atijariwafa Bank.   Burkina Faso harvested a record 650,000 tons of cotton in 2012-13, registering a rise of 51 percent over previous season’s production of 417,393 tons. Cotton contributes nearly 5 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for 35 percent of export earnings of Burkina Faso.

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