•Import costs rise by 186% in past weeks, says MAN DG
•‘We still pay 4% FOB charge despite suspension’
The Director General of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said the difficulties manufacturers and importers face in clearing goods in the last few weeks are a result of a ‘glitch’ within the customs service.
Speaking yesterday during the 58th yearly general meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ikeja Branch, yesterday, Ajayi-Kadir said raw materials have been stuck at the ports for weeks, costing them not just billions of naira loss but also lost production time.
The manufacturers expressed fear that some of the materials might not be usable again by the time the glitch is fixed, and they are out of the ports.
The branch head said he has taken the matter up with the head of customs and has been assured that the error would be fixed soon and activities would return to normal.
He said manufacturers are dealing with bigger challenges, including the four per cent free on board (FOB) that was supposed to be shelved.
He said, despite the presidential order to the contrary, importers are still being charged the levy as customs said they are yet to be informed about the suspension.
“We continue to object to it; it is ill-timed and not manufacturing-friendly. We will continue to fight to ensure it is withdrawn completely. Because of these unnecessary and added costs in the last few weeks, by our calculation, our import costs have gone up by about 186 per cent.
“This is extremely unreasonable and unsustainable. At the end of the day, we are going to pass on these costs to end users and consumers. We are not philanthropists; we are in business to make money.
“We should be focused on improving the disposable income of the average Nigerian and you cannot do that by fueling inflation and increasing our cost of production,” he said.
Speaking on the N1 trillion promised to manufacturers over two years ago as part of the Federal Government’s stabilisation plan, he said it is yet to see the light of day.
However, he said, MAN is working hand in hand with the Bank of Industry (BoI) to ensure that it gets to genuine manufacturers.
On his part, the outgoing chair, MAN Ikeja branch, Robert Ugbaja, regretted the many challenges local manufacturers are going through, noting that over 60 per cent of their members still operate below installed capacity due to inflationary pressures and galloping input costs. He added that lending rates remain unfriendly and logistical challenges, especially around Apapa ports and interstate transport, continue to disrupt supply chains.
