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Manufacturers of soap and detergents have put their combined capacity at 1.25 million tonnes per annum.
They say total demand in Nigeria is 400,000 tons per annum, meaning that available capacity far exceeds national requirement.
They, therefore, say that the removal of soap and detergent, with HS Code 3401.11.1.00 – 3402.90.00.00 in retail packs, from the Prohibition List of the country will hurt the industry.
In a statement obtained from the manufacturers, the industry says some of the existing manufacturers are in the process of expansion, which is expected to double the industry capacity, given the entrance of additional two new companies into the sub-sector recently.
“Hence there is no dearth of capacity. What we have on ground in the industry is more than enough to take care of the nation’s requirement for the next 10 years,” the manufacturers say.
“We also believe that the excess installed capacity in the industry will automatically regulate the retail prices and ensure advantage to the consumer any time,” they state, adding that soap manufacturing is done in Nigeria by many cottage, small and medium-scale to a large industries.
They further say that in the last 15 years, soap and detergent industry has given direct employment to more than 140,000 workers, creating about 500,000 indirect jobs.
“Given the penchant of Nigerians for imported products and the urgent reaction this triggers in their abandoning locally produced products, especially non international brands, it is then clear that we are courting trouble as these employments will be threatened and as many of the factories will close down,” the players lament.
They stress that with scarcity of dollars, companies are seeking alternative sources for their raw materials locally, which has encouraged backward integration and consequently opened up a lot of opportunities for economic growth in palm oil and its derivatives.
“The backward integration by detergent manufacturers into sulphonation plants and talc, calcium carbonate and other mining industry are testimonials today. These ancillary industries are creating more jobs and revenue for the country, which should not be ignored through the removal of the item from the Prohibition List,” they say.
They add that removal of soap and detergents from the Prohibition List will allow the products to flood the Nigeria market, thereby deepening Nigeria’s precarious employment situation as suppliers of additive colours and others will be adversely affected.
“The ban has encouraged local industries to thrive. Local manufacturing soaps cut across all industrial sizes: be it cottage, small medium and large companies. The major beneficiaries are the cottage and small-scale industries which have assisted in creating employment and value- addition in all the strata of the economy,” they stress.
ODINAKA ANUDU
