Cost of Production: NSDC Seeks Cheaper Power, Single-digit Loans

Sunday Ehigiator 

The Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Mr. Kamar Bakrin, has called for urgent reforms to lower the cost of production in Nigeria, urging governments at all levels to prioritise cheaper electricity, single-digit industrial lending and faster port operations to enable local manufacturers compete under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Speaking at the technical session of the 17th National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment (NCITI) held in Enugu, Bakrin warned that unless Nigeria addresses its long-standing structural challenges, it risks surrendering the African market to more competitive economies.

Addressing delegates at the annual council meeting, Bakrin said Nigeria stood at a defining moment in its industrialisation journey, insisting that the country’s greatest challenge was no longer demand for locally made goods but the high cost of producing them.

He declared: “Nigeria must now choose between competing for the African market and conceding it to others.”

According to him, manufacturers in Nigeria pay between two and ten times more than their counterparts in countries such as Vietnam and China for electricity, credit and logistics, making locally produced goods significantly less competitive.

He disclosed that Nigerian manufacturers spent an estimated N1.34 trillion generating their own electricity last year.