Dangote Laments Impact Of FX Shortages On Manufacturing Output
The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has lamented the impact of foreign exchange scarcity on the manufacturing sector, as it adds to the perennial challenges of the sector.
He disclosed that the manufacturing sector is overwhelmed by the shortage of forex which makes imports difficult and expensive.
Speaking on Tuesday as the guest speaker at the 2nd Adeola Odutola Lecture/Presidential Luncheon/ Made in Nigeria Exhibition of the Manufacturer Association of Nigeria (MAN).
According to him, in the official forex market, manufacturers are only given about 25% of their forex requirement, which often allocate in bits over a period of a few months.
“This obviously affects their ability to fulfil obligations with suppliers for raw materials, spare parts equipment and machinery.”
“The importance of manufacturing in ensuring the growth, stability and resilience of an economy cannot be overemphasized.
He further explained that without a vibrant manufacturing sector Nigeria will always be overly dependent on imports and fluctuation in oil revenues will continue to result in foreign exchange scarcity and economic shocks.
“In recent years, the manufacturing sector’s contributions to GDP has hovered around 9 per cent, which is low and indicates that previous efforts at industrialised Nigeria through manufacturing has not yet yielded the desired result. The sub-optimal performance of the sector is due to the existence of binding constraints.
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