Eziomume Solomon, Nnewi
INNOSON Technical Company Ltd, Enugu, has appealed to the Federal Government to grant manufacturing companies in the South East waivers on import and custom duties on raw materials and machinery.
A General Manager at the company, Mr C.O. Ubah, made the appeal weekend, when a delegation from the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment on assessment tour at the Enugu International Trade Fair Complex visited the Innoson plastic industry in Enugu.
He said that the high cost of clearing and handling of imported raw materials remained one of the biggest challenges manufacturing industries en- counter in Nigeria as importers cutting corners to import Finished goods sell cheaper than the local manufacturers.
He explained that plastic industries in the region have been suffering due to the inability of the Eleme Petrochemical Company to meet their demand for raw materials for plastic industry. He also called on the government to give license to more petrochemical companies, and allow more modular refineries to join the fray to break the monopoly of Eleme Petrochemical Industry in the supply of plastic raw materials. Ubah lamented that the Innoson tyre factory that was built with the support of Bank of Industry with capacity for producing tyres for cars and lorries, has not been able to go into full production due to high environmental impact assessment costs by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), as well as other bureaucratic bottlenecks associated the agency’s approvals.
He stated that the delay in getting the necessary approvals made Chinese expatriates to leave the country in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic; adding that the exit of the expatriates had left the factory idle since approvals were finally received.