N50bn worth of sub-standard products enter Nigeria annually
06 December 2011
Sub-standard products worth N50 billion enter the Nigerian market from Asian countries, the Director General of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Joseph Odumodu, has disclosed.
Speaking in Abuja on 1 December, Odumodu said most of the products find their way into the country through the ports of Lagos, Port Harcourt and Calabar, while Abuja and Kano also have their share of imported products. He further said an estimated 80 per cent of goods imported into the country for onward distribution and use are sub-standard, and about 90 per cent of life endangering products, consisting of cables, extension cables, voltage stabilisers and other electrical products, are sub-standard.
According to him, the patronage of sub-standard products has caused undue competition with foreign companies producing similar products as Nigerian firms, a situation which has led to closure of Nigerian industries, exacerbation of the unemployment situation, loss of revenue, waste of hard earned resources and loss of lives.
“As a result of the renewed onslaught on importers of substandard products in Lagos and loses incurred by the personalities behind such acts, we discovered that some importers had diverted their operations to Port Harcourt, Calabar, Sokoto and Katsina,” he said.
“If much of these sub-standard products are motor vehicle parts, you can imagine how much of the accidents on our roads and indeed the loss of lives could be attributed to the patronage of substandard products,” he warned. Speaking on the efforts being made to curtail the scourge, Odumodu said, “I must say that in the battle against sub-standard products, we are dealing with highly organised and smart set of human beings. When you are faced with a group so smart, so desperate, you have no option as a regulator who wants to deliver on your mandate, to become smarter.” – (Daily Trust)
‘95% of fabrics in Nigeria are smuggled’
About 95% textile materials consumed in the country are smuggled, leaving only 5% to Nigerian Textiles manufacturers, the chairman of the Textile Association of Northern States chapter, Dr. Walid Jibrin has said.
Dr Jibrin said in a statement that counterfeiting of Textiles Trade Marks and design coupled with massive smuggling have killed the textiles industry in Nigeria. “It is a herculean task trying to bring to normalcy the hay days of the industry,” he said.
“In order to compete favourably with foreign fabrics, government and the private sector must collaborate to stop the influx of counterfeited and smuggled textiles. It is sad to note that the 175 textiles industries in the 80s have drastically reduced to only 24,” he lamented.
He further alleged “Our trademarks and designs are nakedly being produced in Asia and sold openly in the Nigerian markets. Counterfeit and banned textiles fabrics are openly transported in trailers from Niger Republic through the porous borders of Niger, Benin, and Chad, pass Maradi to Katsina and land in Kano.”
He said the Nigerian industries are capable of producing enough goods for home use and for exports if government was able to create a favourable environment.
“The total number of employees has declined from 300,000 to a little over 20,000,” he claimed. “From Kaduna alone, the decline is from 10 textile industries to virtually only one and from 20,000 employees to less than 800.”
Jibrin further stated that the industry will be capable of catering for 2 million Nigerians, making it the second largest employer of labour apart from government and therefore should never allow a situation where Nigeria becomes a cheap market for Asian Fabrics, instead local production of goods for home use and exports should be encouraged thereby creating huge employment opportunities.
He further stated that the industry needs more incentives which include tax holidays, implementation of Export Expansion Grant (EEG) and liberalization of interest rates.
The goodies that go with EEG are fast eroding by inconsistencies and ineffective and judicious implementation of the EEG policies. Any attempt therefore to cancel EEG will spell doom for the industry,” Jibrin warned. – (Daily Trust)
