Nigeria Exported Plastics Products Worth N12.6bn Last Year — NEPC
Nigeria exported plastics products worth N12.6 billion ($80.4 million) in 2010, despite the lingering excruciating business environment that has prevailed in the country the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (Man) said requires urgent attention.
The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC),which stated this in Abuja, said the figure represents an increase of 13.72 per cent over the exports in the previous year, which stood at N11 billion ($70.7 million).
Mr. Aliyu Lawal, NEPC’s director in charge of trade information, said products, which include poly bags, plastic cards, plastic sheets, composite pipes, plastic tubes, automotive plastic products and plastic articles were exported largely to West African countries, especially Liberia, Ghana, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire. About 163 plastic companies are currently operating in Nigeria.
According to Lawal, the manufacturers have exported the largest volume of plastic products to the West African sub-region in the last two years.
He could not confirm the number of companies that participated in the exportation and the volume of the products exported to each of the West African countries but noted that this was a good time for the products because manufacturers were enjoying greater market share.
“Nigeria’s competitive and comparative advantage in the area of manufactured products puts her in a vantage position to take advantage of this opportunity to capture the Ecowas market before any other country,” he said adding that “if Nigeria refuses to trade with some of the countries in the Ecowas states, most of them will not survive.”
Lawal said for the economy to grow and for more products from Nigeria to be able to compete favourably at the global level, it will be important to address all the challenges that hinder the growth of economic activities in the region.
Dr. Vincent Obi, chairman, plastic products sub-sector of Man, who also acknowledged that the products were doing well in terms of exportation, said that they could still make more impact in the area of job creation, if certain challenges facing the exporters were addressed.
For instance, he lamented the illegal exportation of finished products. “Some countries within the Ecowas sub-region come here with trucks to get our finished products informally, without a record,” he noted adding that power was a major challenge as manufacturers spend billions of naira on fuel to generate power for the production of plastic products every year.
The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC),which stated this in Abuja, said the figure represents an increase of 13.72 per cent over the exports in the previous year, which stood at N11 billion ($70.7 million).
Mr. Aliyu Lawal, NEPC’s director in charge of trade information, said products, which include poly bags, plastic cards, plastic sheets, composite pipes, plastic tubes, automotive plastic products and plastic articles were exported largely to West African countries, especially Liberia, Ghana, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire. About 163 plastic companies are currently operating in Nigeria.
According to Lawal, the manufacturers have exported the largest volume of plastic products to the West African sub-region in the last two years.
He could not confirm the number of companies that participated in the exportation and the volume of the products exported to each of the West African countries but noted that this was a good time for the products because manufacturers were enjoying greater market share.
“Nigeria’s competitive and comparative advantage in the area of manufactured products puts her in a vantage position to take advantage of this opportunity to capture the Ecowas market before any other country,” he said adding that “if Nigeria refuses to trade with some of the countries in the Ecowas states, most of them will not survive.”
Lawal said for the economy to grow and for more products from Nigeria to be able to compete favourably at the global level, it will be important to address all the challenges that hinder the growth of economic activities in the region.
Dr. Vincent Obi, chairman, plastic products sub-sector of Man, who also acknowledged that the products were doing well in terms of exportation, said that they could still make more impact in the area of job creation, if certain challenges facing the exporters were addressed.
For instance, he lamented the illegal exportation of finished products. “Some countries within the Ecowas sub-region come here with trucks to get our finished products informally, without a record,” he noted adding that power was a major challenge as manufacturers spend billions of naira on fuel to generate power for the production of plastic products every year.
