The Producers Affiliation of Nigeria has decried the rise in worth of unsold stock by 12.9 per cent from N1.24tn within the first half of 2024 to a report N1.4tn by the tip of the previous yr.
MAN president, Francis Meshioye, revealed on the 2025 Presidential Media Luncheon held on Wednesday in Lagos that producers have been unable to promote their items as a result of diminishing shoppers’ buying energy ensuing from excessive inflationary results.
“The manufacturing sector in 2024 confronted a myriad of macroeconomic and infrastructural challenges that severely impacted its efficiency,” Meshioye said. “Inflation in Nigeria reached an alarming 34.6 per cent by November 2024, diminishing shoppers’ buying energy and inflicting a decline in demand for manufactured items. This inflationary burden additionally led to an accumulation of unsold stock, which rose to N1.4tn throughout the manufacturing industries.”
He highlighted how the devaluation of the naira, which fell from N666/$ in mid-2023 to over N1,700/$ by mid-2024, compounded the sector’s woes by inflating the prices of imported uncooked supplies and equipment. “The floating alternate charge worsened the already strained profitability of producers,” Meshioye defined.
The high-interest charge atmosphere additionally dealt a blow to the sector, with charges reaching 27.7 per cent by November 2024. This made entry to credit score for growth and modernisation virtually unimaginable.
Moreover, a 250 per cent hike in electrical energy tariffs in 2024 considerably elevated working prices, pushing many companies to discover various and expensive power sources.
Meshioye identified the challenges led to a drop within the sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Home Product, which declined from 16.04 per cent in This fall 2023 to 12.68 per cent in Q2 2024.
“Manufacturing is pivotal to galvanizing and sustaining the financial development and growth of Nigeria. The federal government should align with our conviction {that a} win for the manufacturing sector is a win for the financial system,” he added.
The MAN president referred to as for swift authorities motion, urging the well timed passage of the 4 tax payments earlier than the Nationwide Meeting, a evaluate of electrical energy tariffs, and immediate clearance of foreign exchange backlogs. He additionally confused the necessity to tackle inflation, coverage inconsistencies, and infrastructure deficits to enhance the sector’s productiveness and competitiveness.
Wanting forward, Meshioye expressed optimism in regards to the potential of know-how, together with synthetic intelligence, to remodel manufacturing. “Environment friendly adoption of AI will improve manufacturing and productiveness, enhance capability utilisation, and streamline logistics operations,” he remarked.
With a projected 4 per cent financial development in 2025 and the naira anticipated to stabilize between N1,500 and N1,650 to the greenback, Meshioye referred to as for continued reforms to stabilize the financial system and help the manufacturing sector’s restoration.
“The trail to development is obvious,” he stated. “Enhancing productiveness and enhancing competitiveness should stay priorities to make sure Nigerian producers navigate these challenges efficiently.”
The PUNCH had earlier reported that MAN said its unsold manufactured items reached the then report N1.24tn, as its unsold inventories elevated by 357.57 per cent within the first half of 2024.
MAN attributed this sharp improve to the declining buying energy within the nation brought on by escalating inflation, subsidy elimination, and naira devaluation. It disclosed this in its newest report on the nation’s financial efficiency.
