Nigerians spent N9.28tn on imported goods in nine months –NBS

Latest data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that a total of N9.28tn was spent on the importation of manufactured goods into the country between January and September 2020.

The NBS data released on Thursday, January 7, show that manufactured goods imported into the country rose significantly in the third quarter of last year as the manufacturing sector was hard hit by the COVID-19 disruptions, border closure and the scarcity of foreign exchange.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Purchasing Managers’ Index Survey Report also released on Thursday, the manufacturing sector contracted in the six months to October amid the economic fallout of the pandemic, and although it snapped out of the stagnation in November, the sector shrank again in December.

The NBS data also showed that manufactured goods imported into the country in Q3 were valued at N3.83tn, up from N2.78tn in Q2 and N2.66tn in Q1.

Manufactured goods imports increased in value by 23.18 per cent in Q3 compared to Q2 and 23.47 per cent year-on-year.

The Director-General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said that 2020 was quite a bad year for the manufacturing business in Nigeria, citing the disruption caused by the COVID-19 lockdown and the challenge of insecurity severely limiting food production and movement of food across the country.

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), in its economic review for 2020 and outlook for 2021, noted that the manufacturing sector was faced with several structural challenges, which had an adverse impact on growth performance.

Read also: Customs gives importers deadline to clear abandoned goods or forfeit them

The LCCI said the sector had been struggling with growth in recent years due to tough operating conditions in the local business environment and had made most industry players less competitive in the domestic and regional markets.

According to the LCCI, lingering forex crisis was perhaps, the most significant challenge for the sector in 2020 as most industry players found it increasingly difficult to access forex meant for importation of critical factor inputs.

It said the reopening of the land borders should provide succour to the manufacturing sector just as the kick-off of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA ), will serve as an avenue for manufacturers to penetrate new African markets.

“Critical challenges such as forex scarcity, inconsistent forex policies, inefficient transport infrastructure, high production cost, weak consumer demand and the new competitiveness pressure foisted by the AfCFTA may dampen the recovery prospects of the sector in year 2021.

“In our view, credit flows to the manufacturing sector will fail to achieve desired outcomes without putting in place measures to address structural bottlenecks in the ports and customs processes and other policy challenges to productivity.

“Thus, we see growth of the manufacturing sector being subdued in the near to medium term,” the LCCI said.

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