Francis Ogwo
The closure of Nigeria’s borders has led to a decline in patronage of imported goods with a higher demand for made in Nigeria goods increasing within the period in review.
This was stated by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) who noted that unsold inventory of locally manufactured goods declined by N23.73 billion.
According to the body of manufacturers, in a report released over the weekend, the Federal Government’s closure of the borders in August 2019 to fight smuggling, coupled with the COVID-19 containment measure had become a blessing to the fortunes of the association.
The Acting Director General of MAN, Ambrose Oruche, said the demand for alternatives to imported goods were strengthened with the closure of ECOWAS land borders and the restrictions on imported goods.
The closure helped in boosting the value and demand for local products.
“In the second half of 2019, inventory of unsold finished manufactured goods dropped marginally in the sector to at N202.16 billion, down by N23.73 billion (10.5 percent) when compared with N225.89 billion recorded in the corresponding half of 2018.
It however increased by N1.9 billion (0.9 percent) when compared with N200.26 billion recorded in the first half of 2019.
“Inventory of unsold finished goods in the sector totaled N402.42 billion in 2019 and N375.42 billion in 2018.
The development can be attributed to the closure of land borders of the country within the ECOWAS regions, which made Nigerians resorting to the purchase of more of locally manufactured goods in the period.” Oruche added.
Information from the release also revealed that Ikeja industrial zones had the highest record of unsold manufactured finished goods of 30.7% in the period, with Ogun following with 26.2% and Apapa zone with 21.2%.
This is with the basic metal, iron & steel fabricated metal group amongst others, which recorded highest inventory within the period.
Recall that there has been a clamour for the patronage of made-in-Nigeria goods to grow the country’s economy.
