LONDON: The Federal Government loses about N15 billion annually to fake and substandard products in the country, the organised private sector (OPS) has said. President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Tony Ejinkeonye, in a chat, said that the high rate of substandard goods in the country was killing the growth and development of local industries.
He said over 80 per cent of inferior goods were in Nigerian markets as against 20 per cent of substandard imported goods found in other developed economies. The ACCI boss said that the high rate of substandard goods in the country was killing the growth and development of local industries.
Ejinkeonye said that the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) were more affected as they suffered massive losses due to the influx of bad products into the country. He lamented that the influx of inferior goods was affecting the growth and development of the local industries.
Ejinkeonye said: “Nigerian economy and local industries have been suffering due to the rise of substandard goods in the Nigerian market, 80 per cent of products imported into Nigeria are substandard, this has led to the Nigerian market having over 80 per cent of inferior goods as against 20 per cent, which is obtainable in other developed countries.
“In our local industries, most genuine business enterprises put in efforts and strive to make quality products with standards, but at the end of the day, consumers prefer to purchase substandard goods at a cheaper rate, rather than going for the standard ones due to high cost of production and certification of the goods. Consequently, the genuine industries with standard goods cannot sell. This has affected their growth and has also translated to loss of jobs and reduction in tax paid to government.”
