The Nation Newspaper

Tag: AFBTE

  • AFBTE grows income to N102m

    The Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) grew its income from N83, 416,058 to N102, 033, 930 for the year ended December 31st 2018. This represents an increase of 22.32 per cent.

    Its President,Comrade Patrick Anegbe, said the business operating environment in the year under review experienced the usual challenges which took its toll on firms.

    According to him, during the period under review, the industry was troubled due to the influx of finished products, which negatively affected the patronage of locally manufactured products and eroded the profit margin of the organisation.

    Anegbe attributed the slow pace of the income realisation in 2018 to the rehabilitating state of country’s economy and the delay in several actions of the Federal Government.

    “Despite coming out of recession as announced by the Federal Government in Q3 of 2017, in Nigeria, the business environment still remains fragile and weak in the course of 2018.

    “As a result, the sector suffered a 7.0 per cent decline in pre-tax profit because of the slow pace of recovery in the economy,” he said.

    He explained that delay in the passage of 2018 budget and insecurity in some part of the slow part of the country, constrained business operations in those areas, adding that there was also the issue of contraction in yield from Federal Government debt instruments, which affected accessibility to funds from the bank.

  • AFBTE boss seeks forex for manufacturers at official rate

    President of the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), Paul Gbededo has said that the availability of foreign exchange to manufacturers at the official market will boost the growth of manufacturing sector.

    He said this while addressing the 38th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association held in Lagos over the weekend.

    He said the foreign exchange policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) two years ago, which restricted some manufacturers from accessing forex from the official market and the continued drop in naira to dollar exchange rate, had adversely affected the sector’s performance.

    He decried the difficulties the manufacturers are currently grappling with in order to source for forex in the parallel market, noting that this has increased the cost of manufacturing, resulting in operational review of businesses.

    He said manufacturers and investors need conducive environment for smooth business operations, adding that such environment must be the type that is devoid of challenges of multiple taxation, inadequate power supply, high cost of gas, double-digit interest rate, unabated smuggling among others.

    He noted that the unfavourable macroeconomic environment had impacted negatively on business performance and the ability of employers to retain workers.

    “Manufacturers recorded drop in turnover and profit margins as well as decline in capacity utilisation. The manufacturing sector declined at a faster rate during the review period. The result of this includes loss of jobs, while those companies which did not retrench workers reviewed downward their staff salaries and allowances,” he said.

    Going forward, he urged the government to harmonise its monetary and fiscal policies to give clear economic direction to manufacturers and also ensure reduction in Company Income Tax (CIT) as a way of attracting further investment aimed at pulling the country out of recession, downward adjustment in Value Added Tax (VAT), and Personal Income Tax as this will enhance the growth of productive sector and also enhance citizens’ purchasing power which has largely been whittled down by inflation.

    Delivering a lecture   titled: ‘Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the Real Sector: The Food and beverage Industry in Focus, Prof. Olawale Ajai, of the Lagos Business School, who was a guest speaker at the event said, openness, liberalisation and competiveness was vital to creating wealth and ensuring increased capacity utilisation.

    He added that openness and liberalisation will lead to enhancement of business environment to make them highly competitive in the global market and enhance investment climate to strengthen competitiveness which can lead to high innovations.

     

  • SON, AFBTE reaffirm collaboration in promoting quality

    SON, AFBTE reaffirm collaboration in promoting quality

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Association of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employers Association (AFBTE) have reaffirmed the collaboration between the two organisations with a commitment to promote the quality of products manufactured by the latter.
    This collaboration was expressed at a forum in Lagos where the chief executives of organisations under the umbrella of AFBTE hosted the Director-General of SON, Osita Aboloma and members of his management.
    Welcoming the SON director- general, the President of AFBTE, Mr. Paul Gbededo, who is also the group managing director of Flour Mills of Nigeria, enumerated the benefits of the long standing collaboration between the two organisations in the areas of standardisation and quality assurance.
    He congratulated the SON DG on his appointment and praised the agency’s role in clarifying the specifications in the Nigeria Industrial Standard in relation to standards in other climes in the recent soft drinks saga.
    The AFBTE president pledged the commitment of the association and its member bodies to promoting continual improvement in the food, beverages and tobacco sector, in furtherance of the government’s economic diversification agenda.
    Aboloma acknowledged the support his agency had been getting from the AFBTE member-bodies, particularly in the hosting of technical committee meetings for standard development and review, as well as their active and relevant contributions to the processes.
    He said SON only played its statutory role in the soft drinks saga by providing documented facts as agreed by stakeholders and approved by the Standards Council of Nigeria.

  • ‘Irregular power supply inimical to growth’

    Operators have advised the Federal Government to create an environment to facilitate the utilisation of the development funds released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The Secretary, Association of Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Employees, (AFBTE), Mr Aderemi Adegboyega said the effective utilisation of the N200 billion Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SMEs), N300 billiion Power and Aviation Intervention Fund (PAIF), among others, depend largely on the economic environment.

    He said government’s ability to create wealth and employment would help fast-track the economy’s growth.

    Adegboyega said the inability to meet the electricity needs of Nigerians was a major setback in growing the economy.

    He said irregular power supply remained an impediment to SMEs’ moderated industrialisation and economic growth.

    “There is the need to fast-track development in the power sector so that the loan to SME can impact positive on the economy,” he said.

    The former President, Association of National Accountant of Nigeira (ANAN), Dr Samuel said that the government should also address the current security challenges in the country.

    He said economic stability will not thrive without conducive environment that determines the success of private sector operators and inflow of foreign investors. He urged the CBN to work against improper disbursement and poor implementation of the scheme.

    A lecturer with Pan African University, Dr Austin Nweke said that the proposed credit would only promote economic activities in an environment with developed infrastructure.

    Nweke said that infrastructure development would attract investors and provide job opportunities for unemployed youths.

    “Serious monitoring and transparency in the distribution of the fund would also ensure the achievement of the loans objectives,” he said.

    Nweke said the loan innovation would, if properly managed assist in harnessing the potential of Nigerians and contribute to the growth of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    He also urged government to establish a monitoring team that would through the CBN facilitate the provision of loans to SMEs’ at single digit interest rate from commercial banks.