An indigenous
firm, Erisco Foods, has said it may be forced to shut down its
production in the country due to its inability to access foreign
exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria for the procurement of
machinery.
The company’s chief executive, Mr. Eric
Umeofia, said it would lay off 1,500 employees and quit Nigeria for a
more favourable business environment if things don’t change.
He said this in Lagos on Wednesday,
October 5, 2016 when some of the company’s workers held a protest,
lamenting plans by the company to halt operations and lay off workers.
Umeofia said, “It is difficult for
indigenous manufacturers to access forex despite CBN’s promise to
manufacturers that they will allocate 60 percent of foreign exchange to
them.
“It is unbelievable that for over two
months, no forex has been allocated to Erisco Foods whereas the same
forex is allocated daily for the importation of finished goods.
“Products that can be easily produced
locally like fish head, tomato paste, razor blade are on the forex bids
of the various banks.”
He said that the high interest rates
charged by commercial banks, importation as well as policy constraints
were disincentives to manufacturer’s production in the country.
He said, “The prices of our products are
high due to high cost of production and this is in addition that we
currently generate our own power.
“We have lost over N3.5bn in our bid to
industrialise Nigerian economy and (are) ready to move our production
section to another country.”
Umeofia complained that the penchant of
Nigerians for imported goods and lack of clear policy against
importation of goods that could be manufactured locally were destroying
manufacturers.
He said, “We have stock of tomato paste
worth over N6bn now and not selling due to dumping and conspiracy
against indigenous manufacturers.
“We have complained publicly and
officially to all the relevant government agencies with loads of
evidence, but regrettably nothing has changed till date.
“We will be forced against our patriotic
wish to relocate our operations to a country where there is conducive
and favourable environment for manufacturing if within 30 days from now
nothing significant is done by the government to address these issues.
“We will lay off 1,500 of our employees
in the factory, replicate our $150m investment in another country and
from there import tomato paste to Nigeria.”
Erisco Foods has a production capacity of 450,000 metric tons of tomato paste annually for 22 brands with over 2,000 workers.
The company’s workers had in their
hundreds held a peaceful protest against the management’s plan to shut
its production worth about $150m.
The workers were seen carrying placards and chanting songs around the factory premises in Oregun, Lagos.
The Area Sales Manager, Erisco Foods,
Mr. Ayoola Oladayo, urged the Federal Government to save their jobs by
intervening in the situation of the company.
He said, “We appeal to the government to save our jobs and families.
“The unemployment rate is alarming and
we do not want to be classified as jobless in this harsh economic
situation of the country.
“About 2,000 of us will be affected in various factories if the company shuts down.
“We urge the government to assist Erisco
Foods and other indigenous manufacturers to continue to contribute to
the country’s GDP.”
Mr. Obinna Ezeugwa, another worker, said
that the country needed active participation of the private sector to
create employment for the citizens for sustainable economic development.
(NAN)
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