Group seeks good infrastructure to boost local production

To boost exportation of consumables in Nigeria, a manufacturing group, Caraway Ranona Group has advocated adequate infrastructure and government policy framework to encourage investors to become active in local production.

The group said that when the necessary facilities are available, it will allow businesses to thrive thereby generating more revenue for the sector.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the General Manager, Operations and Regulatory Affairs of Olam and Sanyo Joint Venture, Prashant Thakur said that local production can succeed when government pays attention to the plights of manufacturers.

Thakur, while speaking to newsmen on the group’s export programme, especially for Nigerian-made products, reaffirmed the group’s commitment to assist government on policies related to local content development.

He however stressed the need to apply some level of caution in order to encourage both the investors and consumers to be able to reap the benefits from government’s policies.

According to him, there is nothing Nigeria cannot do given the ample resources and manpower at hand.

He said: “Olam believes in the Nigeria economy and this has reflected in our efforts to invest heavily on localisation of raw materials and operations. We will continue to support and commend government’s policies on local content and encourage agriculture. But there is need to do all this with caution so that the end users would be able to reap the benefits from the policies.

“Infrastructures must be developed in the first place; secondly a timeline must be given to investors and thirdly, the facilities must be on ground to aid smooth production processes.”

With a capacity to produce the best brand of staple food in the country, Thakur canvassed the group’s support on the outright ban on importation of products that can be manufactured in the country.

He called on government to support local farmers with the right facilities to assist in achieving the desired result on exportation of Nigerian brands while he advised the Nigeria Customs Service to consider manufacturers in that regard in order to give investors the ample opportunity to ensure timely cargo exits from the ports.