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In 30 years, half of Nigerian biscuit companies went out of business— Manufacturers

Published

6 months ago

May 1, 2024

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has claimed that in the last 30 years, half of the companies in the biscuit and bakery products business went out of business.

During the group’s recent annual general meeting in Lagos, Fola Osibo, head of the sub-sector, told everyone what was going on.

According to Osibo, Nigerian biscuit makers have had some tough times over the years, and some of these times have made it uncertain whether or not they would be able to stay in business.

He said that the problems included rules that made things hard to do, unpredictable prices and supplies of raw materials, and unfair competition from mostly cheap biscuits from other countries.

Osibo said, “Looking back about 30 to 40 years, biscuit manufacturing operations were thriving in this country, policies were supportive of local manufacturing, raw materials were readily available, and our association had up to 40 members scattered all over the country.

“Then suddenly, the economic situation started going southwards, and our sub-sector started facing economic disruptions, and unfavourable policies which impacted negatively on our operations. Most companies could not cope as margins were completely eroded caused by rising costs of operations, and they started closing shops.

“Unfortunately, our sector has been neglected over the years, and the various government policies have impacted negatively on our operations. Growth of local biscuit production has therefore been stunted and the number of those still in operation has shrunk to only about 15 to 20 companies.”

He asked the Federal Government to save the sector and keep it from falling apart totally by putting in place policies that are responsive and help local production.

The group asked the government to get rid of the Value Added Tax (like it was from 1999 to 2007), lower the net import duty on biscuit flour to 20%, and lower the import duty on some important raw materials like liquid glucose, hydrogenated fat, and flavourings.

Akinwande Owen, Plant Director of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, talked about the problems that the manufacturing industry faces in his presentation. He said that the main problems are changing foreign exchange rates, low consumer purchasing power, talent development and migration/relocation, multiple taxes, and government policies.

Related Topics:Biscuit Featured Manufacturer Nigeria Nigerian manufacturers

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Botswana: Debswana diamond sales drop almost 50% in first nine months of 2024

Published

2 seconds ago

November 1, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to data provided by Botswana’s national bank on Tuesday, sales of rough diamonds at the Debswana Diamond Company decreased by almost 52% during the first nine months of 2024 as the worldwide diamond market continued to decline.

Debswana, which is jointly controlled by Botswana and De Beers of Anglo American Plc, sells De Beers 75% of its produce; the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) keeps the remaining portion.

A new 10-year diamond sales agreement was reached between Botswana and De Beers last year, according to which ODC will receive 30% of Debswana’s supply, with the possibility of increasing this to 50% by the end of the new arrangement.

The Bank of Botswana announced on Tuesday that Debswana has sold diamonds valued at $1.53 billion in the first three quarters of this year, up from $3.19 billion in the same period last year.

Sales decreased 50.3% to 20.9 billion pula in local currency or around $1.55 billion at the current exchange rate.

A third of Botswana’s national output, 30% to 40% of its revenue, and 75% of its foreign exchange earnings come from diamonds. By value, it is the leading producer of the gem worldwide.

The poor economic performance, which is mostly attributable to the decline in the global diamond market, and the high unemployment rate are among the issues that will be the focus of the general election that will be held in the southern African nation on Wednesday.

“Our diamonds have not been selling since April, so yes, our revenues are down but the economic fundamentals still remain intact,” President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who is seeking a second term, said at a presidential debate last week.

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Dangote insists refinery has 500 million litres of petrol to meet Nigeria’s needs

Published

2 days ago

October 30, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Aliko Dangote, the chairman of Nigeria’s Dangote oil refinery, has claimed a 500 million litre gasoline stockpile, refuting claims by some oil marketers that they had to augment Dangote’s supplies with imports to address fuel shortages.

Africa’s wealthiest man claimed to be a guest of the Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, along with the finance minister, the head of the state-owned NNPC, and oil regulators at a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

The goal was to reconsider a policy mandating that NNPC sell crude oil to the Dangote refinery in local naira currency in an attempt to relieve pressure on foreign exchange and assist the massive refinery in obtaining enough crude to meet its 650,000-barrel-per-day capacity.

After the discussion, Dangote explained that he should not be held responsible for fuel shortages in Africa’s top oil-producing nation because his company does not deal in the retail sale of petrol.

He added that it costs him money to keep fuel in storage tanks.

“I expect the NNPC and marketers to stop importing. They should come and collect; we have everything they need,” said Dangote.
Two weeks ago, local fuel traders began increasing imports, claiming that the Dangote refinery was unable to meet domestic demand, exacerbating fuel shortages.

In September, the Dangote Oil Refinery in Lagos started processing petroleum to produce 25 million litres per day. The objective is to progressively boost output to 35 million litres per day, which Dangote thinks will be enough to satisfy regional demand. However, the industry regulator stated at an oil conference in Lagos on Monday that Nigeria uses 45 to 50 million litres of petrol every day.

President Tinubu advised stakeholders to concentrate on providing enough petrol for domestic consumption to lessen reliance on imports, according to a government spokesperson’s statement.

In order to settle the naira pricing of oil and refined goods, he also instructed them to use Afreximbank, the financial adviser for the naira crude sale plan.

The refinery was forced to rely on costly imports after Dangote filed a complaint alleging that oil majors were preventing it from accessing locally produced oil by selling it above market value or claiming it was unavailable. Previously, Dangote had to purchase crude on the international market.

The plan to sell crude in naira will continue, according to Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and the government would not meddle in setting the oil industry’s exchange rate.