Incessant smuggling of textile products into Nigeria, gas shortages and foreign exchange scarcity are threatening the survival of one of the few surviving carpet and rug makers in the country, Lucky Fibres Nigeria plc.
“Influx of substandard carpets has been a very big challenge for us,” Kemi Ajibade, head of human resources at Lucky Fibres, told Aisha Abubakar, minister of state for industry, trade and investment at the factory inspection in Lagos.
“Sourcing of raw materials is also a big challenge, owing to foreign exchange scarcity. We source a number of inputs locally, but there are few we have to import. Without them, production cannot happen. We wish the government could help us get some forex at the official rate,” Ajibade said.
She said gas shortages and poor power supply has spiked the firm’s production costs.
She said the company could contribute more to the economy if given the required support, while also calling on the government ministries to patronise quality carpets and rugs produced by the company.
“Our capacity utilisation is only 20 percent, yet we employ 2500 staff members. What happens when we have 100 percent utilisation? We believe we can engage the youth but we need support,” she said.
“We commend the Bank of Industry because the bank has been the pillar of support. It has helped to bring us thus far and we would like you to join us in commending them,” she told the minister.
Nigeria’s textile firms have been hard hit by policy somersaults, which have led to the closure of hundreds of firms in the 1980s and 1990s. Smuggling, poor power supply and dubious waivers have been blamed for the woes facing this sector.
Currently, Africa’s biggest economy depends on imports for its textiles. Most of the imports come from Indonesia, China, India, USA and other parts of the world. There is currently about six surviving textile firms in the country.
Aisha Abubakar, minister of state for industry, trade and investment, who also toured two other textile firms, said government is desirous of reviving the struggling industry.
“We really want to bring back the glory of the textile industry. We want the sector to become above average. This is why we want all stakeholders to place the right information on the table so that we can move the sub-sector forward,” said Abubakar.
She said the government does not want a piecemeal measure this time, but needs a holistic approach to the challenges of the industry, advising the textile firms to come up with designs that would appeal to the younger generation.
The minister found out that local textile products were cheaper than imported materials and charged players in the industry to use the social media and other avenues to bring their products to the Nigerian consumers.
“Different ministries are sitting together to proffer a solution to the foreign exchange issues. I would like you to come up a lot of products so as to make use of your machines. If you see anyone in your industry that is not doing the right thing, bring it to our notice,” the minister urged.
ODINAKA ANUDU
