Manufacturers ask FG to take mitigation measures and provide subsidies to local producers
Manufacturers in Nigeria have called on the Federal Government to calm down the manufacturing industry as a means of dealing with the negative impact of rising production costs.
Rather than handing out available resources as a temporary palliative and then making the population even poorer, manufacturers should encourage governments to reuse resources and encourage local production as incentives to local producers. We believe that we can increase the economic wealth of the country.
They made this call at a stakeholder engagement forum organized by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Anambra State over the weekend, where they also discussed how small and medium-sized enterprises can access financing for growth. did.
The forum, themed 'Access to Finance and Cheaper Financing for Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria', highlighted the lack of access to finance, poor infrastructure and some of the key challenges affecting businesses in Nigeria. , identified insecurity, high taxes, and inconsistent policies.
In her opening remarks, the Chairman of MAN for Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi Region, Lady Ada Chukwudoji, said it would be better to incentivize manufacturers, saying, “Increased production will create wealth and jobs and boost the economy. It will be revitalized,” he said. ; they will have enough finished products for export. Inflation will then collapse and the naira will start to appreciate against the dollar. ”
She said, “The current method of trading through bulk imports of finished goods and exports of primary products has reached its limits.
“We should embrace industrialization and import more raw materials while exporting finished products.
“Our highly successful traders should be encouraged to partner with overseas suppliers and manufacture products locally as champions of local content.
“We should stop subsidizing our consumption and instead subsidize production.
“Governments should also provide investment incentives, such as land, tax breaks, grants and grants, to manufacturers who invest in upgrading machinery, technology and processes to increase productivity and competitiveness.
“The current direction of the debate is about productivity, industrialization, the need to make the economy a productive rather than a consumption-based economy, from an economy that exports primary products and imports finished goods to a highly productive economy. “How do we convert? We export finished products and import raw materials.”
Mr. Chukwudojie also emphasized increasing opportunities for manufacturers to access finance, saying that “access to information and access to cheap finance remains core and central to Nigeria's productivity and industrialization.” Stated.
SMEDAN Executive Director Dr. Charles Oddy said SMEDAN has launched interventions to ensure local manufacturers have access to soft loans.
Source: dailypost.ng