In a chat with a major manufacturing outfit in the food sector, Beloxxi Industries, in Abuja, the factory located in Agbara, Ogun State is said to be running at 50 percent capacity.
From opinions sampled among some eight major factories in the daily needs area, they complained of the problem of dwindled sales and stoppage or production.
The management of Beloxxi, major makers of cream crackers biscuits that serves most of the markets in Nigeria and the entire West Africa, lamented that sales have been very poor and lower than anything the plant has seen in its nine years.
“We have in the past years remained the leader in the market, but these days, sales are very poor. It has nothing to do with the product but with the economy. Our warehouses are filled to the brim with the same products that had never been enough for the same market.
“There are no other factors that caused the slowed pace than the political uncertainty that has caused a run on the macro economy which boils down to poor sales. Our distributors complain they are not selling because as secondary food items, the restrictions in the economic channels have narrowed down the choices of consumers.”
According to Beloxxi management, the factory had to completely shut down production for about 10 days.
“We resumed production last Monday, March 9, and instead of having all our four production lines on, only two are working and our production capacity of about 70,000 cartons of biscuits everyday has been cut down by half.”
Another source also explained to Abuja Metro that same situation is what many manufacturers, not only in Agbara, face. “Our umbrella body, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) is aware of what we are going through, and right now, the end is not yet in sight.
“What we experience is a confirmation that the news in the media that the economy is suffering in the present political stalemate is true. If the elections were over by now as earlier planned, the problem would have eased. And it worsened after the postponement because the development created some uncertainty in the minds of players in the economy, and the drop in value of the naira that caused an upward push in the price of products is another negative factor.
“Most of us import most of the raw materials we use and a lower naira in the international market is not helpful.”
The manufactures therefore called on the federal government to think of cushioning measures against the vagaries of the unfriendly development against local production in the economy.
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