Igbo traders Open on why they import cheap goods from China

As fake and counterfeit products continue to flood Nigerian markets, despite the presence of the regulatory and security agencies at the nation’s gateways, Igbo traders who have been accused of going to China to import fake products, say they go to the Asian country to import cheaper products and not fake. The traders told Sunday Telegraph in separate interviews at the weekend that their effort is to ensure that they import goods that are affordable to the millions of poor Nigerians, while the expensive ones are always there for the rich.
Most of the traders stated that before they discovered the Chinese market, most products imported to Nigeria were made in Great Britain and other European countries, “but unknown to many of us, most of the goods were produced in Asia, including China; but the final packaging was normally done in Britain before exporting to Nigeria with added cost.
Chief Hyacinth Uzoeshi, electronics appliances importer based in Alaba International Market, Lagos, said unlike what people think, “Our discovery of the Chinese manufacturers brought down the cost of goods in the market and made it affordable to millions of Nigerians.
There is high level of poverty in the country, so as a trader, I look for products majority of the middle and low income people can afford. If you enter the market today to buy umbrella, you will find the ones sold at N500 as well as those that go for N2500.
If you are a businessman, you will find out that the turnover on the N500 umbrella is higher and profit margin is equally higher.” He stated that the N500 umbrella is not fake, but not of the same quality with one of N2500.
“That does not imply that the cheap umbrella is fake or substandard; it is just a function of price.” He further said, “If you go to the market to buy shoes, you can find shoes of N5, 000, N10, 000, N50, 000, N100, 000 and above.
What we are doing is to ensure that it is not only the rich that can afford everything, we look for things that are affordable. Standard is the business of SON, ours is to comply with the set standard,” he said.
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