Manufacturers call for fair power pricing amid macroeconomic challenges

Local manufacturers person again pleaded with the national authorities for equitable powerfulness pricing to prolong manufacturing operations successful Nigeria.

Making this telephone astatine the yearly wide gathering of the Food Beverage and Tobacco subsector, themed, ‘Cultivating Value: Employing Quality, Standards and Innovation successful Strengthening Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing’ held precocious successful Lagos, they said powerfulness accounts for astatine slightest 40 per cent of their accumulation costs and the existent concern is unbearable and unsustainable.

“Power is betwixt 26 to 40 percent of our outgo of work, depending connected however power-intensive the manufacturing process is,” said the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir.

“We request powerfulness but we cannot wage for it and dice off, we request it astatine a just price,” helium said.
Highlighting MAN’s efforts to foster a conducive economical situation for the manufacturing sector’s maturation and profitability, helium added, “The accumulation worth of the assemblage accrued and contempt the growth, section earthy worldly sourcing declined from 70 per cent in the 2nd fractional of 2022 to 66.8 percent successful the aforesaid play successful 2023,” helium said.

He acknowledged the resilience of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco subsector successful the look of macroeconomic and infrastructure challenges, peculiarly the rising energy tariffs. “The show we are seeing is simply a objection of resilience successful the look of daunting macroeconomic and infrastructure inadequacies,” helium said.

He besides shared the vexation and predominant complaints from manufacture players astir rising vigor costs and urged stakeholders to stay resilient and accommodate their processes for greater efficiency.

Also, Head of the Corporate Affairs and Sustainability astatine Rite Foods, Ekuma Eze, emphasised the subsector’s importance. “The nutrient and beverage manufacture contributed 34 per cent to the full manufacturing assemblage arsenic of 2022 and astir 5 percent to Nigeria’s GDP. The assemblage has immense imaginable for maturation owed to our ample population. Three sectors marque up astir 78 per cent of the full manufacturing sector, with nutrient and beverage being the largest. Yet, our manufacturing assemblage remains acold from competitory connected a planetary scale,” helium said.

Eze pointed retired respective obstacles hindering the sector’s growth, including mediocre infrastructure, precocious inflation, precocious vigor costs, forex liquidity, unpredictable regulations, insecurity and high taxation burdens. “This sector’s taxation publication arsenic a percent of gross nett has hovered astir 35 to 41 per cent in the past 4 years, severely affecting profitability.”

However, helium advocated for strategical authorities involution to heighten their competitiveness, peculiarly successful the discourse of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He further recommended policies to streamline customs procedures, harmonise regulations, put successful captious infrastructure and provide targeted financing options for manufacturers. “Manufacturing should beryllium a cardinal operator of economical growth, creating jobs, generating income, and contributing to the GDP. Our policies indispensable promote manufacturing to guarantee economical progress,” helium said.

Stressing the request for holistic reasoning successful economical policy-making, helium said, “Recent CBN policies person seen involvement rates skyrocket, making it intolerable for manufacturers to get wealth and progress. We request policies that promote manufacturing, arsenic it creates employment, generates taxes and drives economical growth.”

Similarly, Deputy Director astatine NAFDAC and Chairperson of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), Lagos chapter, Aina Olugbenga Steven, described the Nigerian concern situation arsenic VUCA – Volatile, Uncertain, Complicated and Ambiguous.

“Thriving successful this situation means dealing with challenges specified arsenic energy and overseas exchange.”

He emphasised the value of maintaining value, precocious standards and innovation successful manufacturing.