Nigerian manufacturers are paying between two and ten times more than competitors in Vietnam and China for power, credit and logistics, a gap that is hollowing out the country’s industrial base even as demand for its products holds firm, Kamar Bakrin, executive secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), has said.
According to Bakrin, “None of this is a demand problem. Nobody on this continent needs persuading to buy what Nigeria makes.”
“It is a cost-of-production problem, and that distinction matters because costs, unlike demand, are within our power to fix,” he added.
Nigerian Manufacturers spent an estimated N1.34 trillion last year just keeping their own lights on, according to findings by BusinessDay.
“Every factory in Nigeria is running a second, unwanted business as a private power station,” Bakrin said in a statement.
“Working capital costs Nigerian manufacturers 27 to 35 percent, against about 9 percent in Vietnam and
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