Nigerian manufacturers have suffered some setbacks, such that their outputs in monetary value dropped to N7.4 trillion within a period of two years.
As seen in a five-year data recently released by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the monetary value of made-in-Nigeria goods produced nosedived from N9.43 trillion in 2017 to 2019, representing a decline of 27%.
Manufacturers’ challenges in Nigeria
BizWatch Nigeria understands that the country is presently battling energy crises and an acute currency issue, which has crippled dozens of businesses.
Revealing why many businesses are struggling to thrive, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf explained that “the major causes of this situation are challenges of foreign exchange, energy, inflation, and China imports. The foreign exchange situation has worsened, and most of them are heavily dependent on imported raw materials. General inflation has affected aggregate demand for their products, forcing some of them out of business.”
On the foreign exchange (FX) challenge, the President of the Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe said attributed the continuous fall of the naira to a combination of several factors.
The factors, according to Gwadabe, include -currency substitution, politics, and exclusion of BDCs from participating in the FX market.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir warned that the manufacturing sector may be totally crippled because of the energy and currency crises.
He, therefore, advised the government to develop and adopt a robust policy that would be in favour of manufacturers in the country.
