Manufactured goods valued at N13.7tn were imported into Nigeria from January to September 2021, data from the National Bureau of Statistics has shown.
The data indicates that the country also exported manufactured goods worth N757bn in the nine months, accounting for 0.06 per cent of the total trade of N14.3tn.
The value of trade in the manufacturing sector in the first quarter of 2021 stood at N4.78tn, representing 49.01 per cent of the country’s total trade in the period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Exports accounted for N250.4bn and import components stood at N4.5bn out of N4.78tn.
The data revealed that manufactured goods imported into the country included antibiotics, used vehicles, motorcycles, and machines for the reception of voice, stressing that goods exported from the country included vessels and other floating structures as well as aluminium alloys.
It explained that in the second quarter, of the N4.5tn total trade in the sector, the country imported N4.3tn worth of manufactured goods and exported N211.6bn goods.
The National Bureau of Statistics stated that manufactured goods exports in the third quarter were 39.4 per cent more than the value in the second quarter and 121.6 per cent higher than the third quarter 2020.
According to the report, manufactured goods imports were 13.98 per cent higher in the third quarter than the level in the second quarter and 42.73 per cent more than that of the third quarter 2020.#
It also revealed that the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria attributed the low level of exports in the sector to challenges in the country’s operating environment.
The Director-General, Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, explained that although the quality of manufactured products in the country was of a high standard, challenges like infrastructural deficiency, uncomplimentary macro-economic indices and other production constraints put the manufacturing sector at a disadvantaged position.
To give the manufactured goods in the country a chance to compete, he suggested a reduction of corporate income taxes as a viable solution.
He explained, “It is a known fact that lower taxation encourages investment. It will enable investors to earn more from and help the profitability of existing industries and improve their working capital. MAN has been advocating for this over the years.”
Segun Ajayi-Kadir opined that manufacturing should be prioritised for access to foreign exchange, suggesting that there should be increased efforts at creating a friendlier operating environment.
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