The Nation Newspaper

Category: Industry

  • BUA to build sugar plantation in Kogi

    BUA Group plans to launch its backward integration scheme in its sugar subsidiary plantation in Kogi State before the end of the year.

    In a statement, the Group Executive Director, Kabiru Rabiu, said cultivation on the land will commence in the last quarter of the year.

    He added that the plantation will assist in boosting the sugar production of the Group and enhance employment, imports open up opportunities for ancillary industries.

    According to him, the plantation is structured to generate its own power during the process of converting molasses to sugar, while provision has been made for gas supply to fire its turbines.

    BUA blenders owns the second largest sugar refinery in Sub-Saharan Africa, located in Lagos with an installed capacity of 720,000 metric tons per annum and is set to inaugurate a second sugar refinery with the same capacity in Ports Harcourt, Rivers State next year. The company also acquired Lafiagi Sugar Company (Lasuco), Kwara State through a privatisation in 2010.

    Rabiu said: “We are pleased with the support of Governor Idris Wada by assisting us toward setting up a sugar plantation in Kogi State.We promise to support the government and people of the state, and be a loyal and productive corporate citizen.

    “The plantation will be a modern state of the art automated plant with the technology deployed from Brazil, widely known as having the best technology in sugar production and refinery.”

    The state Governor Capt. Idris Wada confirmed the allocation of land to BUA for the proposed plantation.

     

  • Binatone introduces blenders

    The distributor of Binatone products in Nigeria, Interworld Products Limited, has released three models of household blenders.

    The company’s Managing Director, Mr Sridhar, said in a statement that the new blenders were introduced after a thorough research.

    According to him, a study has shown that the singular problem with blenders and grinders is the breaking of their jars when it drops from the hand of its users.

    He said: “Binatone’s R&D therefore decided to come up with the right answer as the company’s engineers recommended the use of polycarbonate, which is a very strong and unbreakable material used in the building industry as a major raw material for the production of the jar of the new blenders.

    “All the three models come with 1.5 litres generous size unbreakable jugs.”

    He explained that model BLG -555 came with a motor while model BLG- 402. It has a push button and clearer jug; and model BLG-450 is a very comfortable, large, smooth operating knob for simplicity.

  • SON to review LPG cylinders standard

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has pledged to ensure that Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders meet the required standard.

    Director-General, SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, said it has become imperative to address the problem of LPG cylinders.

    According to him, apart from enhancing safety of lives and property in the industry, revalidation of cylinders will also boost the LPG business as well as create more confidence in the minds of users on safety.

    Odumodu said part of the SON’s mandate is to protect lives and property through standards.

    He said the requalification would also eliminate most of the sub-standard cylinders from circulation and also lead to the scrapping of old cylinders.

    He said: “We have be meeting with key sectors of the economy and the operators in the LPG sector especially for industrial safety by ensuring that imported LPG cylinders and those produced in Nigeria meet the requirements of NIS 69: 2006. We seek collaboration of the stakeholders’ to ensure quality gas is also dispensed to the consumers”.

    According to him, a situation whereby cylinders were imported or produced in Nigeria and sold to users without any programme for requalification and none for maintenance is no longer acceptable.

    He said SON would soon flag up a campaign to remove old cylinder from circulation.

    “Cylinders above 15 years, which is the agreed period for their revalidation, would be affected,” he said.

    He said all the stakeholders need to join hands with the SON to safeguard the sector.

    According to him, some of the things SON would be seeking to do, going forward, are to ensure that all importers of LPG cylinders have a defined programme for the maintenance of cylinders, adding that operator would have trained personnel on how to inspect and re-qualify LPG cylinders.

    His words:“Other prequalification condition is that the expiry dates of cylinders shall be engraved or embossed on all cylinders. There is need to start setting the right standards in the sector.

    “A Technical Committee comprising members from all sectors ought to have met to develop a framework for the workability of the scheme.’’

    Odumodu noted that the exercise was a core of the organisation’s campaign of zero tolerance to substandard products in the country.

  • NEXIM disburses N7.5b to cashew sector

    The Nigerian Export Importank (NEXIM) has disbursed $50 million (N7.5billion) to the cashew sector from 2002 to date.

    The Managing Director of the

    bank, Mr Robert Orya, disclosed this at the NEXIM and Nigerian Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) Finance forum in Lagos.

    He said if the industry is well harnessed, it could generate N24 billion yeraly.

    Orya, who was represented by a Director in the bank, the Very Rev. Ifeanyi Nwade, said the cashew industry has implications for increased export revenue, development of the industry and increased job creation in line with the transformation agenda of the Federal Government.

    He said the industry has continued to operate below its potential. This, according to him, is as a result of problems ranging from low yielding plantations to inadequate processing facilities and low level of access to finance.

    He noted that Nigeria, the world’s sixth largest producer of cashew, with annual production of about 120,000 tonnes, will be a good employer of labour if properly harnessed.

    “The inability of our local producers to process their products has meant that about 95 per cent of the annual production is exported as raw commodities with attendant low prices and inability of our producers and exporters to receive commensurate reward for their efforts.

    “To address some of the above challenges, NEXIM in collaboration with the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), and the United State Agency for International Development (USAID), launched the Nigerian Cashew Cluster Finance Scheme in 2012, through which NEXIM disbursed about N150million under the pilot scheme and has cumulatively disbursed about N1billion till date to the sub-sector,” Orya said.

     

     

  • Nigeria to manufacture auto spare parts

    The Federal Government plans to begin local manufacturing of auto spare parts soon.

    Making this known to reporters in Lagos, the  Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Muhammed Sada, said the ministry would incorporate products from local manufacturers to realise the plan, aimed at creating jobs.

    He said: “We are working on some projects whereby some of the major automobile manufacturers would be invited to speed up activities in the production of basic spare parts for the motor industry with the hope that we would build it to the level where we would be able to produce motor vehicles.

    “This is where the local manufacturers will come in. We would not be thinking of this kind of programmes without the local manufactuers . They would be part of the framework with which the automobile framework will be built.

    “We are in a strong partnership with them, which we believe would develop the industry, and most importantly, providing the required jobs for the Nigerian people.”

    The minister said the government had decided to leave the development of the steel industry to the private sector, adding that the government would only serve as regulator for the activities within the sector.

    “This has led the government into privatising most of the operations in the sector. The idea is to ensure that a level-playing field and an enabling environment is created for businesses to progress and grow and be the drivers of the achievements that are found in the sector,” he added.

     

  • SON’s N950m lab ready in Dec.

    The N950million new Standards Organisation of Nigeria’s (SON’s) laboratory complex being built in Ogba, Lagos, is expected to be ready in December, its Director-General, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, has said.

    He spoke during the the Nigerian Standard Council’s (NSC’s) inspection of projects being undertaken by SON, in Lagos.

    The Chairman of the Council who led the delegates, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha, said the Council is ready to back SON to implement its various initiatives aimed at ridding Nigeria of substandard and fake products.

    He commended the council’s management for what he described as the huge capability displayed and the determination to rid the country of substandard goods and services.

    He said the Council was committed to ensuring the training and retraining of the agency’s staff.

    He said going by what the team had seen, he believed Nigerians would soon start witnessing a new era, where imported goods would meet the standards required.

    Odumodu said the various initiatives embarked upon by the management since he became its helmsman, have resulted in the sharp reduction in the volume of substandard products in the country, adding that the pursuit of the agency’s zero tolerance for substandard products importation and distribution underlined the building of the various testing laboratories.

    He said much cooperation and support would be needed from the Council, if SON was to achieve the programmes highlighted.

    The Vice-Chairman of the Council and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Investment, Dauda Kigbu, said the team would pay similar visits to the agency’s zonal offices in other parts of the country, including Enugu,Kaduna and Port Harcourt.

    He assured the public that SON will not compromise on standards, stressing that whatever was needed to be done to ensure that the agency carried out its assignments diligently, would be done by the Council.

    At the Lagos office of SON, the Head of Operations in the state and Assistant Director, Mrs. Elsie Ofili, listed inadequate staff and logistics, as among other challenges, where assistance was expected.

    The new Council, saddled with ensuring that the agency’s activities are on track, was inaugurated in March, last year.

     

     

  • ‘We’ll reduce Nigeria’s dependence on oil’

    THe Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) will assist in reducing the country’s dependence on oil, its Chairman, Mrs Grace Clark, has said.

    She said since Independence, Nigeria has been depending on oil, adding that it was high time the country began diversifying to the non-oil areas.

    “ We are a wealthy country with mineral resources everywhere, and for the new market that is emerging, we hope to be partners and participants in the global economy. We cannot do this without money; we cannot go into the global market without money. We cannot carry our manufacturers, commodity agents and farmers to the global market where they are not competitive,” she said.

    On provision of incentives to manufacturers, she said though there are incentives, the council would look for more ways to support them.

    Her words: “We have the Export Expression Grant which is under review. We are hoping that it will be reviewed in favour of the manufacturers. I know their challenges, it is very important in order for them to meet the requirement that is expected of them. So, there are incentives and as the new board gets working, we are going to look at other avenues and other challenges and barriers to make sure that they are able to compete favourably with their counterparts in the developed countries.”

    Mrs. Clark said the agency has not received its funding as yet, explaiming that the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is supposed to be contributing 10 per cent of its resources to NEPC, but said that hasn’t been done yet.

    “Up till now, we have not received it and is a constraint to us. We want to be part of the Presidential transformation agenda, and you cannot do that with words. We have a lot of things that we need to promote with funds. We need exhibitions, we need to support manufacturers, exporters and we encourage and advise them and provide them with technical and logistical support on how to promote their products so that it can compete favourably in the global market.

    “But if we don’t have these resources, how can we carry out these things? We cannot do it with words. We are also trying to make sure we look into the manufacturers’ problems. I have had opportunity to visit some of them and they have legitimate complaints that are universal and we cannot do without funds,” she said.

  • Govt spends N88b on rice, sugar import

    THE Federl Government spent N88.15 billion on rice and raw cane sugar importation between October and December last year, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said. In its fourth quarter 2012 trade statistics.

    Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale, said N56.91 billion was spent on importation of semi-milled or wholly-milled rice in packaging of more than five kilogrammes, or in bulk; while raw cane sugar in solid form took N31.24billion.

    It put the total merchandise trade for the fourth quarter of 2012 at N7.185 trillion, representing an increase of N6.4 billion or 0.1 per cent over what was recorded in the third quarter of last year.

    “The total value of Nigeria’s external merchandise trade for the fourth quarter of 2012 stood at N7.185trillion, showing a slight increase of N6.4billion or 0.1 per cent over the previous quarter.

    “At the end of 2012, Nigeria’s external trade was N28.071trillion. This was 4.3 per cent lower than the corresponding figure of N29.333trillion recorded in 2011.”

    The development, the NBS said, was due to a sharp decrease of 43.1 per cent in the value of imports from N9.89trillion in 2011 to N5.62trillion in 2012.

    In spite of the decrease in the value of imports, experts have lamented that N88billion was still spent on the importation of rice and sugar in the last quarter of the year.

    This, according to them, is a stark reflection of the country’s dependence on food imports.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, said the country had become a dumping ground for imported food, adding that Nigerians were spending N2trillion yearly on food importation.

    He had said: “It is a shameful thing that Nigeria has become a net importer of food.

    Nigeria has become a dumping ground for cheap food, and it is killing our people and the economy.

    “About N1billion is spent every day to import rice. We also spend N240billion to import sugar, and N1.2trillion annually on fish. With this, we are creating market for others.”

    In view of this, the Federal Government had made known its intention to ban the importation of rice in order to promote the consumption of locally produced rice by 2015.

    The minister said the Federal Government had evolved measures to ensure the nation’s food security would not be at risk.

    Adesina said the country would by 2015 grow sufficient rice for local consumption.

    According to him, part of the transformation plan of the Federal Government was to focus on the whole value chain in agriculture, adding that the government would also grow the seed sector in the country.

     

  • BoI, Gombe N3b entrepreneurship scheme enters phase two

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Gombe State Government have begun the second phase of the N3 billion Gombe State Government/Bol Entrepreneurship Development Scheme.

    Speaking during the kick off of the scheme, the Managing Director of BoI, Ms Evelyn Oputu, said transparency and transformative strategy should be deployed in the disbursement of the loan.

    She praised the strict professionalism deployed by officials and the 13-man Loan Monitoring Committee in ensuring that the loans are repaid a promptly, adding that this has made the state to carve a niche for itself in fund management.

    Ms. Oputu while pledging the support of the bank to ensuring that the newly established industrial cluster gains access to renewable energy through the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), called on the Dankwambo to consider the provision of land for cotton production, saying the Bank was in talks with investors from Madagascar and Malaysia who are willing to come because the state is rich in cotton production.

    She said in line with the objective of the government to encourage the exploitation of the state’s natural resource endowment, 80 per cent of the approved loan has been committed to agribusiness, with the balance reserved for construction and asquisition of chemical products

    Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo said his administration, two years ago, took the step by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BoI to reposition the economic fortunes of the State.

    He said the move entails the creation of a “Matching Fund” of N1 billion through a joint contribution of N500 million each by the state government and BoI to Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in value addition activities in fertiliser blending, groundnut oil processing, rice, poultry feeds, fish feeds and tomato processing.

    Others are cosmetic manufacturing, aluminum long span roofing sheet manufacturing, poultry farming, printing, metal fabrication, block/interlocking moulding, carpentry and furniture making.

    He said the fund would provide soft and affordable loans to indigenes of the state, to invest in.

     

     

     

     

     

    And as part of value addition for the budding entrepreneurs to form a synergy and produce at a cheap cost, Dankwambo disclosed that his administration has provided a site for Industrial Cluster/Enterprise Zone for groundnut oil millers and rice processors who were hitherto scattered around.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Nigeria, Netherlands to strengthen trade ties

    The Nigerian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Dr  Nimota Akanbi, has said efforts have been made to improve on the bi-lateral trade relationship between Nigeria and the Netherlands.

    Speaking on the forthcoming Business and Investment Forum coming up in the Hague, Netherlands, she said in line with the transformation agenda of the Federal Government, efforts have been outlined to improve on the relationship, adding that the two countries would look into areas which can improve their economies.

    “We are doing this in line with the transformation agenda of the Federal Government. President Goodluck Jonathan is committed to the attraction of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) to Nigeria. Therefore, for us at the Embassy of Nigeria in The Hague, all hands must be on deck to achieve this.

    “With every sense of modesty, we have been organising investment forums, but the one we are holding between June 4 and 7, this year, promises to be bigger. We are doing this in collaboration with the Hague-based Netherlands council for trade promotion and Nigeria-Netherlands Chamber of Commerce.

    “The forum is aimed at re-invigorating and robustly expanding business partnership between Nigerian firms and entrepreneurs and their Dutch counterparts as well as with Dutch companies and firms.

    “It is aimed at boosting trade and economic relations as well as promoting Dutch investment in Nigeria.

    “Particular emphasis is being placed on investment and economic cooperation between Nigeria and the Netherlands and among the private sectors of the two countries,” she said.

    The envoy said the forum would provide opportunity for Dutch companies and business organisations to negotiate and enter into joint venture or business agreements with their Nigerian counterparts on any area of business interest, including power and energy, oil and gas, agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, information and communication technology, mining and solid minerals, marine engineering, manufacturing, building and construction, tourism, entertainment industry and so on.

    She said about 1,500 Dutch investors and 350 participants from Nigeria are expected.