Nigerian Manufacturers Lament Difficulty In Accessing Dollars At Official Rates

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Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has lamented the difficulty in accessing dollars at official Central Bank of Nigeria rates

This, they said has made it more difficult and expensive to import raw materials and machinery needed for their operations.

This was disclosed by Mr Mansur Ahmed, National President of MAN and Dr Okwara Udensi, Edo/Delta branch chairman of MAN, at the 36th Annual General Meeting of the association.

Dr Okwara Udensi stated current realities have made it difficult for manufacturers to access dollars at official rates and hence, have had to rely on the parallel market.

Nigerian Manufacturers Lament Difficulty In Accessing Dollars At Official Rates

“Manufacturing companies are unable to access the dollar at the official rates and they need it for the importation of raw materials.

“They have been consequently going to the parallel market to get the dollar at higher rates.

“The sector is facing numerous challenges and it needs urgent attention of the Federal Government to provide adequate bailout for the sector to avoid total collapse,” he said.

He added that the sector would only be able to contribute to the country’s economic growth if the numerous challenges militating against its smooth operations were tackled. The challenges, he said, are poor electricity, high lending rates, multiple taxes and levies by government agencies, low patronage of made-in-Nigeria products and congestion at the Lagos ports, among others.

“It is our expectation that these identified challenges be addressed by the government to move the country from an import-dependent to a self-sufficient and export-based economy.

“This can only be made possible with consistency in governments’ policies to guarantee the required enabling environment so that manufacturing companies are able to operate at maximum capacity,’’ he said.

Mr. Mansur Ahmed, National President of MAN, urged the CBN to direct commercial banks to process FOREX allocation applications by manufacturers transparently and called on the Federal Government to evolve a strategic response to the disruptive impact of the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war on the global supply value chain.