Employers in the food, beverage and tobacco sector have predicted that there will be workforce downsizing if the challenges in the business environment are not addressed.
Speaking on behalf of the employers at the 36th Annual General Meeting of the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers in Lagos, the President, AFBTE, Mr. Paul Gbededo, said manufacturers had lost millions of dollar to the devaluation of the naira in the past months.
Gbededo, who was represented by Chief Patrick Anegbe, argued that the high cost of the goods being produced in the country could not be passed to the consumers due to their low purchasing power.
According to him, the 6.81 per cent contribution of the sector after the re-basing of the country's Gross Domestic Product, will have no impact if the current situation is not addressed.
Gbededo said, "The consequence of this for employment is very obvious; as production shrinks side by side sales figures, company operations will also shrink, with attendant rationalisation of expenses and reduction in the number of people employed.
"The scenario of astronomical rise in the cost of production leading to uncompetitive locally manufactured products at a time when the sub-region of West Africa is implementing the Common External Tariff portends more danger for Nigerian manufactures and the economy.
"This is so because the CET will allow goods made in other West African countries to move into Nigeria where locally manufactured products are already disadvantaged by cost. Consumers will not buy made in Nigeria goods when the same products from neighbouring countries are available at lower costs."
In his address, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, asked food and beverage manufacturers to participate actively in the small business loan guarantee scheme and the employment trust fund, which would be unveiled soon by his administration.
The governor, who was represented by Prof. Ademola Abass, said the two programmes were designed to create jobs and empower youths with entrepreneurial skills.
He observed that the state bore the greatest burdens of poor economy due to its massive population.
Ambode said, "As a state, Lagos bears the greatest brunt of the downturn in our economy not only because it is the home to more than 20 million people, but more importantly because it occupies a very strategic position in the nation’s economy.
"We are aware of the various challenges that our country currently faces, especially in the areas of infrastructure development, security and energy. Added to these are the notorious bureaucratic hurdles that often characterise the process of doing business with governments in Nigeria."
Source: Punch