2nd November, 2010
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has blamed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for the increase in foreign products in the country.
Mr. Innocent Umoh, Vice President, MAN Group for Toiletries and Soaps, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos that the trend had impacted negatively on local industries.
Umoh said that the association’s investigations had revealed that most of the foreign products in the Nigerian market were legally registered by NAFDAC.
He alleged that the situation was because of NAFDAC’s inability to determine which goods to register as it was not carrying other stakeholders along in its activities.
“We are surprised at the sudden influx of many foreign goods into the Nigerian market.
“Our investigation revealed that most of those products are not smuggled but legally registered by NAFDAC,’’ he said.
According to him, the development negates the Federal Government’s resolve to encourage local production.
”Efforts to change Nigerians’ penchant for foreign products cannot be achieved with the high level of foreign products in the Nigerian market,’’ he said.
Umoh said that the development had resulted in low capacity utilisation and high inventories within the local industry.
He added that if not checked, it could result to more retrenchment and the closure of more factories.
According to Umoh, NAFDAC indulges in registering the foreign products because of the huge revenue this brings to the Agency and the Federal Government.
According to him, NAFDAC indulges such products because of the huge revenue the registration brings to both the agency and the Federal Government.
“We learnt that the agency generates huge revenue from the exercise and it should not be done to the detriment of the economy.
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