FG |
As the debate
on the importation of packaged tomato paste rages, Raheem Akingbolu
wonders if the federal government is serious about its ban in order to
boost the activities of local manufacturers and protect consumers from
buying substandard goods.
One of the promises
that elated Nigerians, especially local manufacturers and consumers
when the current administration came on board was the assurance that
government would do anything humanly possible to promote made-in-Nigeria
goods. For the local manufacturers of tomato paste, whose businesses
had suffered for years in the hands of unscrupulous businessmen, who
import substandard paste from China and other Asian countries at cheaper
price into the market, the news was a relief.
Months after, the
ugly development still persists without any pragmatic action taken to
nip the situation in the bud. From Ido market to Daleko, Idumota to Aba
market and the popular Kano market, the story is still the same; fake
tomato paste at cheaper prices. The fallout from this, according to a
financial expert, Mr. Adewale Abe is that local manufacturers would be
stressed and may eventually die.
He said: It is a
simple theory, Nigerian companies that struggled hard to invest in
tomato plantation, factories and meet specifications of regulators will
not be able to compete with the promoters of substandard foreign pastes
at cheaper prices. The activities of promoters of fake products can also
result to unemployment because local manufacturers, who are providing
jobs for Nigerians are being frustrated. Above all, the economy will
greatly suffer."
Speaking further,
the expert went down memory lane and reeled out names of local brands
that have recorded untimely death because they couldn't withstand the
heat. Among others, he mentioned, Tomapep, from the stable of Cadbury
Nigeria and Vegful, which have since gone into extinction.
Porous border
Of all the factors
encouraging the importation of substandard products, the infectiveness
of Nigeria borders stands out. This reporter found out during a recent
visit to Seme border that large quantity of foreign tomato pastes still
enter the country from Republic of Benin with ease.
A market woman,
Cecelia Ogbu said as she was trying to unload her goods from a
locally made tricycle that conveyed her to the Nigerian end of the
border that all she needed to do was to tip the customs and other
security men on the road to get to her store at Mile 2 area of Lagos.
With the porous border, one wonders if the assurance of the current
Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Hameed Ibrahim
Ali (rtd)'s assurance that things would improve is anything to go by.
Asked why she didn't buy made-in-Nigeria tomatoes, Ogbu didn't mince
words before saying it was not economical for her business.
"Buying in Cotonou
is more economical for us as business women and it gives us choices. In
Benin Republic, we have access to many products, which include Brisk,
Bonjour, Super Mix, Tomato Paste, Gino, Awa, Farm Stew and Ginny. We
don't have problem patronising Nigeria manufacturers if the price is
competitive,"
To Ogbu, the issue
of health implication of bringing these goods into the market means
nothing since her customers are not complaining.
Health implication
At a recent
consultative meeting held between the top echelon of the National Agency
for Food and Drug Administration and control (NAFDAC) and packaged
tomato paste top importers, the former director-general of NAFDAC, Dr.
Paul Orhii, was honest enough to announce that 85 tomato paste brands
sold in various markets across the country, those imported from China
were clearly below international and Nigerian standards and
specifications.
He expressed his
concern that unscrupulous Asian and Nigerian importers have been dumping
substandard tomato pastes manufactured in China into Nigeria. The
cheery news however was that he stated equivocally that local tomato
pastes meet the required safety and nutritional standards, pointing out
that NAFDAC had always made regular unscheduled inspections at their
various production facilities in the country.
The damning report
revealed that 91.1 per cent of the foreign brands studied failed the
NAFDAC test with virtually all the packaged brands from China being the
culprits. In a frightening dimension officials of the Agency observed
that most of the China-made brands contained far less than the required
quantity of tomato concentrate.
According to him, they were rather
filled with bulking agents such as starch and then infused with banned
colouring, which could cause cancer and lead to organ failure. To this
end, some experts have raised alarm that this may in fact be responsible
for the increase in Kidney and Liver-related ailments among young and
middle-aged Nigerians across the country. Before the exit of Orhii,
NAFDAC had in commenced a massive recall effort to mop up the affected
brands and go after the respective organisations and individuals
involved in the gross inhuman business. It is expected in many quarters
that this will continue until the market is sanitised.
Local manufacturers
Despite the odds
and the unfriendly environment, a few manufacturers have continued to
make the nation proud by sticking to international and local standard to
meet consumers' need. At a quick glance, one can readily point out
Erisco, Dangote, Vitali and Sonia Tomato Pastes in the market.
Dangote
group started a few years ago to grow tomato and process to concentrate
and then transfer to Sonia for packaging. Erisco Foods Limited, which
inaugurated a world class plant recently, is the only company in the
market that is growing tomato, processing and packaging locally.
To
boost production and expand its frontier, the company announced recently
of its determination to launch massive tomato plantations in Sokoto,
Jigawa, Katsina and Zamfara states in order to make Nigeria one of the
hubs of tomato paste manufacturing in the world.
President of the
company, Chief Eric Umeofia, who announced this in Lagos, during an
official visit by representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
governor and its management to Erisco Foods factory, expressed the
company's intent to support backward integration executions in the
tomato value-chain.
By supporting the
company and others that have determined to plunge into the business, it
is believed that government will be able to control the country's
massive loss of foreign exchange, duty and taxes through these
implications. Asides, banning importation of substandard tomato paste
will also protect the public from falling into the negative implications
of consuming adulterated inferior goods.
Legislative and regulatory backings
As the custodian of
the law, the National Assembly sure has a huge role to play in
controlling the ugly trend. Also important are the Standard Organisation
of Nigerian (SON) and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC).
The President of
the Senate, Bukola Saraki, knew this when he said recently that the
government had a responsibility to ensure indigenous manufacturers
thrive to rebuild the economy and put Nigerians to work.
Saraki said this
when he received a delegation from Innoson Motor Manufacturing Company,
Nnewi, led by the Chairman and founder of the company, Innocent
Chukwuma, in his office.
He said government
should use legislative actions and policy initiatives to protect the
local industries as a deliberate way of reviving the economy.
Based in Nnewi, Anambra State, Innoson Motors is the only Nigerian company manufacturing automobile of different range.
Saraki said one of
the actions government should quickly introduce was to ensure that local
industries were patronised by government agencies so that Nigerian
manufacturers could enjoy the advantages accruing from the big market
that her population offers.
"That is why this
eighth Senate is determined to amend the Procurement Law to ensure that
government agencies patronise Made in Nigeria products," Saraki said.
In a similar way,
the Acting Director General of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria
(SON), Dr. Paul Angya, last week said the Made-in-Nigeria, products will
soon become the most preferred goods for Nigerian consumers. The
Director General also affirmed that the practice of taking Nigeria
products to another country and label them another country's name is
over.
Speaking in Lagos
on the effort being made to improve locally produced goods, Angya said
the organisation vision is to get closer to the people so that their
goods and farm products will be elevated up to global standard.
The DG further said
that henceforth any dealer of fake products caught, shall be charged
with murder. He said the agency would go extra miles to put an end to
importation of used and sub-standard products into the country.
Angya said SON
mandate is known to everybody who is aware of standardisation but as
acting director general he would enforced serious sanction on culpable.
Meanwhile as the
world marked the 2015 edition of the World consumer Rights Day
celebration, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) drew the attention of
the nation to the rising incidence of antibiotics resistance,
attributing the development to the cause of many medical treatment
failures.
The Council, which
joined the international community in raising concerns on the growing
cases of antibiotics resistance globally as part of annual event,
emphasised that concerted efforts must be deployed to reverse the trend
in the country.
The CPC's Director
General, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, who made the assertion while addressing the
media as part of the activities lined up to commemorate the Day at the
Council's headquarters in Abuja, also seized the opportunity to
underline the Council's commitment towards raising the bar of consumer
protection in the country.
With all these
promises by various agencies of government and political will to achieve
it, it is a matter of time; the country will rid the market off
substandard products that are inimical to the health of consumers and
nation's economy. Again, if federal government can embark on policies
that will drive local production of tomatoes, it will lead to the
stoppage of importation of foreign concentrate for use in Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment