Manufacturing exporters are calling for friendly economic policies that will enable them to repatriate dollars into an economy in need of foreign exchange, and create jobs.
Speaking in Lagos recently, Ede Dafinone, chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Promotion Group (MANEG), said the poor performance of exports called for export- friendly policies that would enable players to raise production and expanding output.
Dafinone said a 1.5 percent increase in non-oil receipts in 2018 from 2017 was a testament that the government needed to restart the Export Expansion Grant (EEG),which had been the most successful export incentive deployed by the Federal Government.
Nigeria’s total non-oil export earnings from more than 25 commodities in 2018 were $3.3 billion (N1.19 trillion), according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Bangladesh earned ten times that from only one product — garment.
According to Dafinone, some of the challenges facing exporters included poor infrastructure, high energy costs and non-payment of the EEG claims.
“I shall add the closure of borders to the list of the challenges,” he said.
“Our land borders have been closed and this is affecting export and import by our members,” he further said.
A document seen by BusinessDay shows that the National Assembly committees approved the promissory notes of 269 companies worth N193.042 billion for the payment of EEG claims.
Some of the companies approved were A&P Foods, African Glass Limited, African Textile Manufacturers Limited, Crown Flour Mills, Jebba Paper Mills, Deli Foods, Peugeot Automobiles, Procter & Gamble, Ajaokuta Steel Company, Olam Nigeria Limited and GZ Industries, among many others. But the Federal Government is yet to start settling any of these claims.
The EEG was originally established in 1986 to help Nigerian exporters to become competitive at the global market. It is a practice in many developing and developed countries such as China, India and Australia to provide concessions or cash rebates/grants to companies penetrating new markets or consolidating already established markets to enable them rival competitors.
In Nigeria, companies that exported different kinds of products or commodities between 2006 and 2016 were owed billions of naira in claims as the federal government did not meet the obligation of settling them as promised. After suspension since 2013, the current government says it will settle the claims, but is yet to do so.
The National Assembly is yet to approve the remaining 38 companies, which include PZ Cussons, British American Tobacco, Okomu Oil, Lee Group (which has seven subsidiaries), and Sapele Integrated. Others are Nestlé Nigeria, De-United Foods, Beta Glass, Unilever, and Dangote Agrosacks, among many others
“The Group, in collaboration with our parent body, MAN, is working assiduously to ensure the enlisting of the 38 exporters by the 8th Assembly,” Dafinone said.
ODINAKA ANUDU
