Vice President Kashim Shettima says the Nigerian authorities will support local manufacturers with N75 billion by March 2024 to strengthen the manufacturing sector.
Shettima mentioned this whereas declaring open the second National Conference on non-oil export organised by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) on Wednesday in Abuja.
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Represented by Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Special Adviser on Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and Investment, Shettima mentioned N75 billion was earmarked to support 100,000 start-ups and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at single digit rates of interest.
The two-day convention is with the theme, “Building a Sustainable National Economy Through Non-Oil Export.”
According to him, the federal authorities can be dedicated to offering essential infrastructure that may support elevated export of non-oil commodities.
“There can by no means be a greater time to envision a convention of this nature than now; a time to mirror on non-oil export.
“Over the years, the nation’s main supply had been 80 per cent depending on oil income.
“It is obvious that as a nation, we will’t afford to work on this uncharted path.
“Today, we discover ourselves in protracted scenario and challenges. All indications level to the truth that we’ve to prioritise our non-oil export.
“And this administration will give every support to boost non-oil export,” he mentioned.
While pledging support in the direction of made-in-Nigeria merchandise, he assured of federal authorities’s dedication to present infrastructure that may facilitate export commerce.
“We will prioritise capability constructing for MSMEs, we’ll put money into human capital growth.
“We need to work diligently to utilise opportunity provided by African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by deepening our existing values and expanding our forex earnings,” he mentioned.
Earlier, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, expressed concern that Nigeria operated a mono-economy for lengthy.
The minister, nevertheless, expressed pleasure that authorities’s diversification efforts had been starting to yield constructive outcomes.
“Nigerian non-oil exports grew by nearly 40 per cent in 2022, reaching 4.820 billion {dollars}.
“Semi-processed and manufactured merchandise accounted for nearly 37 per cent of those exports, surpassing agriculture’s 30 per cent.
“This is an enormous step in the appropriate course. We not have the luxurious of enterprise as standard when it comes to the enterprise of constructing certain Nigeria succeeds.
“We can not afford to export uncooked supplies cheaply and import completed merchandise at premium costs.
“That train has stopped and will not be starting again. Our focus for exports is locally manufactured value added products that create both business and employment,” She mentioned.
Dr Ezra Yakusak, the Chief Executive Officer of NEPC, mentioned the Council has considerably elevated the contribution of the non-oil sector to the Nigerian economic system.
According to him, for first time, the efficiency of the non-oil export grew by 39.91 per cent in 2022 to 4.820 billion with about 214 completely different merchandise exported, starting from manufactured, semi-processed, stable minerals to uncooked agricultural merchandise.
He mentioned Nigerian merchandise had been exported to 122 nations, and appealed to the federal authorities to handle the unusual illness afflicting ginger farm in Kaduna State.
“I can’t do justice to this handle if I don’t current the challenges being confronted by farmers and exporters of ginger in Nigeria.
“It is a recognized incontrovertible fact that Nigeria’s ginger has been adjudged as the perfect on this planet due its distinctive aroma, pungency and excessive oleorosin content material.
“This makes Nigeria one of many largest exporters of ginger on this planet. However, the Council acquired a number of complaints of the outbreak of an odd illness ravaging ginger farms in Kaduna State.
“So far, about 2,503.9 hectares of farmland have been affected with an estimated loss of over N8 billion,” he mentioned.
According to him, half from the massive monetary and financial loss, the illness is affecting the earnings and livelihood of ginger farmers who’re principally operators of MSMEs.
“With the outbreak of the illness, Nigeria’s non-oil export efficiency could expertise a steep decline, besides the difficulty is sufficiently addressed.
“May I stress that this isn’t the time for us to accommodate any minute disruption in our international alternate influx.
“With the present state of the Naira, each single supply of international alternate should be rigorously and jealously protected.
“It is in this direction that I call on the federal government to declare the ginger fungi infestation as a crop pandemic and fight it with the same viciousness our nation fought covid-19 pandemic,” the NEPC boss mentioned.
NAN/MTO
