National Daily

Stakeholders urge FG to expedite industrial growth

•Reduce customs’ hurdles on export

By ANDREW OJIEZEL

IN apparent alignment with the call for cluster formation by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Charles Ugwuh, participants the 2008 export and import businesses have appealed to the Federal Government to help them to remove the obstacles that have been hindering the smooth sail of local produce meant for export.

They also decried dearth of cocoa produce in the country, saying that westerners have robbed the country of cocoa.
They also appealed to the Federal Government to come up with clusters and industrial parks to enable manufacturers to overcome the perennial electricity, bad roads, lack of adequate security of lives and properties and other challenges that have been ruining businesses in the country, saying “for Nigerian products to compete favourably in global markets, there was need to foster industrial parks or clusters to eliminate the current harsh business environment.”

Speaking with National Daily during the programme, Duro Kuteyi the chairman Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industrialist (NASCIL) Managing Director Spectra Nigeria Limited, maker of Sucro of the urged Nigerians to take more of cocoa drinks because of its medicinal values, “Cocoa was taken away from us in time of our ignorance by Westerners, after processing, the bring them down to us as cocoa alternative because they are aware of the medicinal value of cocoa.

“I will advise people to take more of cocoa than other beverages because of it medicinal values. According to Kuteyi, cocoa have the potency curing stress, it cure cough, it helps our nerve, and it gives more strength to the weak and enable people to have good sleep.”
He urged Nigerians to embark on cocoa planting, which he said can only take 18 months cocoa is already. He stressed that many companies have indulged in producing alternative cocoa drinks, saying “you take a look at most beverages around; you will discover that cocoa contents in them are just too minute as to give the desired body building they tends to supply. And if you discover that your system is not alright in sugar taking I will advise you to take cocoa with pure honey and you will see the healing power in it.

In unison all the participants who were mainly into produce of local agricultural products lamented that inability of Federal Government to ease the transportation and mostly custom agents, which they alleged have often seized perishable goods and allow exporters to loose much money and time, saying “because of government's insensitivity to growth and development of importance of exports, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast and other African countries have beaten Nigeria to locally produced materials.”

Two guest speakers, Mrs. Tokunbo Chiedu of Compass Consulting Strategically Relevant and Mr. Lanre Adedipe of Chairman Asiko House of Foods UK, urged Nigerians that are interested in manufacturing and exporting of Nigerian produces to first endeavour to capture Nigerian markets before focusing on exporting business.

According to Chiedu and Adedipe, disclosed that exporting local produce was a lucrative business saying “we have two million Nigerians in UK, so there is large market for Nigerian products there, even in other African countries are willing to buy Nigerian products, but one thing that is most important is to proper packaging to attract more patronages.”

However Kuteyi, Chiedu and Adedipe urged participants to look for people of like-mindedness to form a cooperative society to enable them benefit from loans from Bank of Industry (BoI), saying it was easier and more secured to do business with the bank rather than on individual basis.

It would be recalled that the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Charles Ugwuh, has for sometime now been cluster formation or industrial park in six geopolitical zones of the country.