The Managing Director, Sonia Foods Industries Limited, Mr. Nnamdi Nnodebe, has said that the Federal Government’s latest policy on tomato paste is killing the tomato paste industry.
He lamented that the 50 per cent levy imposed on imported tomato paste would not grow the industry, but could deepen the crisis already rocking the country’s industrial sector.
Speaking during this year’s Sonia Foods Customers’ Forum, Nnodebe complained that multiple taxation was one of the major challenges of the industry.
He pointed out that manufacturers were compelled to pay import levies on concentrate in dollars, stressing that it was an additional cost as it was not easy to access foreign exchange.
He said, “The increase in the tariff for tomato concentrate from five to 50 per cent, and the $1,500 levy on each metric tonne of tomato concentrate imported into the country are designed to make manufacturers of tomato paste shut down factories.
“This development will lead to loss of jobs and means of livelihood of Nigerians. The government must reconsider this policy; it is not designed to protect anyone.
“Prior to this time, I was manufacturing outside the country; but then, the government called on manufacturers to create jobs at home, and out of patriotic zeal to do just that and empower Nigerians, I and other manufacturers invested billions into establishing factories.
“Not long after that, the ban on items including materials needed for manufacturing of our products was announced; and recently, the new tariff and other policies bound to cause more harm than good for manufacturers with attendant effects on the economy were put in place.”
The Sonia MD urged the government to take a second look at the policies and consider investors as well as potential investors that did not find them favourable.
Nnodebe however expressed appreciation to distributors of the firm’s products for keeping faith with the company despite the challenges, while assuring them that the remaining part of 2017 would be fruitful.
They were rewarded with gifts, ranging from cars to refrigerators and television sets.
One of the distributors, Mr. Bode Abdullahi, commended the firm for being able to withstand the test of the harsh business environment and still produced very high quality tomato paste.
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