Abia Sets Up Lab to  Explore International Markets for Homemade Goods

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

In its drive to push locally manufactured goods to the international market, Abia State government has set up the Aba Export Growth Lab, strategically located at the industrial and commercial hub of the state. 

Governor Alex Otti inaugurated the Export Growth Lab complex sited at the premises of the state-owned Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic Aba, saying that it would not only boost business but also put Abia on the pedestal for exportation. He noted that, being a beehive of manufacturing, Aba has always deserved a whole lot more support than it has been gettiing over the past decades hence the time has come to change the narrative. 

“So, what we have come here to do is to support our people to structure their production, standardise, package and brand their products in such a way that it will be competitive in the international market,” he said. 

Otti stressed the need for manufacturers to adhere to international standards, saying that there’s no shortcut to gainning acceptance in the global market because “international  market is not deceived”.  

He noted that the global market was structured in a manner that makers of inferior goods would not get a foothold hence “if you cannot compete globally, don’t even try because you will just waste your time”. 

He said that Abia has set its foot on the right path of breaking into the global market with its homemade goods, pointing out historical records showed that many countries, including Japan, developed after the war through export of goods. 

Otti, however, stated that by setting up the Export Growth Lab “we are not saying, don’t import” since importation of goods “is not a bad thing. But, we are saying that the things that we are producing in Aba and Abia, that we can sell them beyond the borders of Aba and Abia”.