Nigerian manufacturers discover new markets

Nigerian manufacturers have pointed their market searchlights on Eastern and Southern Africa. This now increases their market dominance in the continent, having for long stamped indelible footprints on Central and Western Africa.


Igharo Thaddeus Nduka, finance and commercial manager, the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria Export Promotion Group,(MANEG), said the country’s pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, glass wares and cosmetics were all in popular demand in these new-found markets, adding that the country had proved its worth in the international market. He further said that chemicals and aluminium products were also among the products sought after in the markets.


He, however, bemoaned the dominance of counterfeits by Asian producers as a major challenge facing these manufacturers.
“The major challenge we are battling with now is cloning and counterfeiting of our manufactured products by Asian countries, who are exporting these products to African markets,’’ he said, on behalf of the group.
In addition, Nduka said MANEG was working extremely carefully with relevant authorities to ensure the country made visible impact on the West African sub region in terms of exports.
“We are working persistently with Nigerian government and ECOWAS Commission towards making our trademarks transnational within the sub region.


We just concluded a forum with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in order to chart a new course for better performance of manufacturing exports,” he said.
     MANEG is a sectoral group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), involving all exporter-members of the association, with a task of driving the country’s non-oil exports in the international market through trade shows and exhibitions.