Naira surge not enough to boost manufacturers’ confidence – MAN

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has said that the appreciation of the naira in recent weeks is insufficient and incapable of inspiring manufacturers’ confidence in the economy.

While speaking with Saturday PUNCH, MAN President, Francis Meshioye, said the current performance of the local currency was not at a level capable of boosting business confidence.

He called on policymakers to ensure a sustained run of naira appreciation to ease the forex burden that manufacturers were currently contending with.

Meshioye said, “The trend should be sustained. What everybody is looking for is for the naira to further appreciate to a point where it is bearable for manufacturers and everyone. The temporary appreciation is not enough to give confidence to anybody.

“It is when it is stable that we can feel relieved. We are watching to see if efforts that have brought us to this point have been deliberate and will continue to ensure stability in the future.”

In the same vein, the Director-General of the association, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said there were still high expectations from manufacturers concerning the continued appreciation of the naira.

According to him, the short-term fixes devised by policymakers to cushion the pains of forex scarcity would not suffice to definitively address the problem.

He said, “Because of the inadequacy of forex, any reduction in the course of procuring forex is a welcome development and a relief for manufacturers. But the current rate is still high.

“We are hoping for a continued improvement in the performance of the naira against the dollar. As we have always said, the only lasting solution is to increase local production because so long as what we use is imported, we will rely on international currency to import them, and there will always be a scramble for forex.

“There is also the need for us to deliberately promote productivity so that we can be competitive in what we produce so we will be able to contribute to the forex stock of the country.”

On his part, the General Manager of Royal Foam Products Limited, Ezekiel Akhiromen, said the current exchange rate fell short of what was expected to ensure profitability.

He said, “Of course, it is affecting us; about 80 per cent of what we buy requires forex – the chemicals and other materials come in from outside the country.”

On November 2, reports emerged that the Central Bank of Nigeria had begun clearing the $10bn forex backlog which had accumulated due to an acute scarcity of foreign exchange in the apex bank’s reserves.

The succeeding weeks have seen significant appreciation of the naira, which had slumped to N1,250/$ by late October.