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Revive paper mills to promote printing industry, Academy Press tells govt

By Femi Adekoya
26 February 2016   |   2:56 am
Academy Press Plc has called on the Federal Government to revive the nation’s moribund paper mills, as strategic measure in promoting printing industry in the country. According to the firm, an imminent decline in capacity utilisation may become irreversible, as inability of the printing industry to access raw materials locally has led to heavy dependence…

paper-mill

Academy Press Plc has called on the Federal Government to revive the nation’s moribund paper mills, as strategic measure in promoting printing industry in the country.

According to the firm, an imminent decline in capacity utilisation may become irreversible, as inability of the printing industry to access raw materials locally has led to heavy dependence on importation of raw materials amid scarce foreign exchange.

With the lingering shut-down of the three paper mills—Iwopin Pulp and Paper Company Limited, Iwopin, Ogun State; Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company, Oku Iboku, Akwa Ibom State; and Nigerian Paper Mill, Jebba, which was privatised in June 2006 to MNIL Limited, the non-availability of local raw materials for local printing industry has reached a crisis level, more so with contrived access to foreign exchange that could have facilitated importation for local needs.

The Chairman of Academy Press Plc, Simeon Oguntimehin, noted that the real sector of the economy is currently encountering the challenge of inadequate raw materials, saying that accessing foreign exchange for the importation of inputs has become more difficult and almost impossible.

Oguntimehin lamented that “the present situation will not augur well for our academic environment in the educational system where printed books are most required. Paper, which is the main input, is not produced locally and has to be imported, as the only relevant paper mill in Iwopin is non-functional”.

Oguntimehin, during the launch of the company’s state-of-the-art equipment in Lagos, also called on the Federal Government to create an enabling environment to support investment in local raw materials sourcing, as part of efforts to make the real sector self-sufficient for its raw material needs rather than importing.

He said the printing industry, where the company boasts of huge share of the market, is not immune to the challenge of inadequate access to foreign exchange, saying that the country stands the risk of rendering many printing firms moribund for lack of production materials.

“As a leader in the print industry, we have always believed that Nigeria print production should continually be at par with the best that you can find in any part of the world. This, we do, by ensuring that our equipment and personnel skills are consistently modern and updated”, he added.

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