The managing director, Erisco Foods Limited, Mr. Nnamdi Umeofia has appealed to the federal government to intervene in the allocation of foreign exchange (forex) and loans to local manufacturers.
This, he said, remains the surest way of resuscitating the ailing Nigerian economy in the shortest possible time.
Umeofia decried over the harsh operating environment faced by local manufacturers claiming a cabal aided by some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were out to strangulate the local manufacturing industry by supporting the importation of sub-standards products.
He said: “we have a stock of goods worth over N4billion for about nine months which we have been finding it hard to sell due to the high cost of production and the flooding of our markets with imported substandard tomato paste by import cabals with the support of our forex.
“Erisco has been seeking it’s products at a loss for about nine months now due to the high rate at which imported banned tomato paste in retail packs has flooded our markets for over three years despite NAFDAC’s reports that 91.1 per cent of the imported tomato paste are substandard.”
Umeofia further said, the company has been supporting the Nigerian affiliate for the past three years with proceeds from its foreign business operations.
“We may have no other choice than to close down if our government continue to refuse to support genuine manufacturers like us, as some other indigenous manufacturers are already closing down and joining in importation.
“The CBN has put their trust in in deceitful companies who are actually the import cabals of substandard tomato paste and other food items that can be produced locally and even better. The cabal is believed to be using paper documentation to manipulate our government as foreign investors in conspiracy with their Nigerian cronies.
“They use Nigerian cronies as cover to twist government policy to favour them and to continue to use government money as loans and foreign exchange meant for genuine manufacturers to keep importing finished tomato paste in retile packs and other food items even as they claim it be producing in Nigerian soil all year round,” he said.
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