By Franca Ofili
Abuja – Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Okechukwu Enelamah, says more than 1.6 million metric tons of sugar is consumed in Nigeria annually.
Enelamah, who said this at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday, said that most of the currently available in the country were imported.
He said that the ministry had developed a National Sugar Master Plan that would boost local production of sugar over the next few years.
“In that plan, those that are prepared to do backward integration will work with farmers to produce sugar.
“We will allow them to import part of our needs at concessionaire rate over a period of time while we monitor their ability to produce sugar locally,’’ Enelamah said.
He said that the target was to provide 200, 000 tons of sugar locally every year until the country would be self-sufficient in sugar production.
“Sugar processing is capital intensive and requires billions of naira to set up a sugar processing plant,’’ he said.
The minister disclosed that the Federal Government was working on trade policy that would bring a lot of ease in doing business in the country.
“The most successful policy is cement; basically, by supporting the cement manufacturers, they have actually made themselves self-sufficient to the point of now exporting cement,’’ he said.
According to him, the same policy is being adopted for sugar, reason is that sugar cane is grown widely in Nigeria and that is the source of sugar.
Enelamah said that there had been notable improvement on Ease of Doing Business, Trade and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the past three months.
He said that directive had been issued on 48-hour visa issuance by Nigerian missions abroad.
He explained that President Mohammadu Buhari launched the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) to drive government’s effort to identify and reduce bureaucratic processes and regulations that impeded private sector operations.
“Other areas of improvement are improving trade beyond oil that is working with Nigerian Ports Authority to reduce the touch points in entry and exit of goods, reducing the time it takes to export and import goods through Nigerian Ports
The minister said that government agencies now had functional websites with up-to-date information, clear procedures, timelines and costs and digitisation effort to support seamless movement of goods.
He expressed optimism that in the first quarter of 2017, the country would see improvements in its various international rankings, adding that there would also be increased participation of small and medium enterprises in government contracts.
He stated that Nigeria recently signed the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) that contained the rules of trade, explaining that “TFA simplifies trade, eliminates barriers and reduces red tape and customs clearance time.
“It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues.
“ It further contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building in this area’’.
The minister pointed out that when implemented the TFA would increase the volume and value of trade in goods, adding that the country would deepen its manufacturing base and connect to regional and global chains.
He said that the ministry would lead a delegation to the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Johannesburg, South Africa, in March.
“It is a gathering that brings together entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers and other start-up champions from more than 160 countries to identify new ways of helping founders start and scale new ventures around the world.’’
