The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Promotion Group has called on the Federal Government to expedite economic reforms to save the manufacturing sector, warning that made-in-Nigeria goods are rapidly losing their competitiveness both locally and internationally.

In a virtual interview with The PUNCH, the Chairman of MANEG, Odiri Erewa-Meggison, raised the alarm in response to the latest foreign trade data from the National Bureau of Statistics, which showed a 40.43 per cent drop in manufacturing exports in the first quarter of 2025. The value of exports fell to N294.43bn from N494.22bn recorded in Q4 2024.

Erewa-Meggison said, “Manufacturers are bearing the brunt of high borrowing costs, often over 25 per cent, and a harsh operating environment worsened by overlapping tariffs, port bottlenecks, and FX volatility. These are crippling the competitiveness of made-in-Nigerian goods both at home and abroad.”

Although the NBS report indicated a 9.58 per cent year-on-year increase in manufacturing exports, MANEG insisted that the quarterly decline signals deeper structural issues that threaten the sector’s survival.

“We believe this quarterly drop in exports is a clear signal that the economy cannot afford to delay reforms any longer,” Erewa-Meggison said. “If manufacturing is to play its intended role in diversification and job creation, then there must be an immediate review of the monetary and trade policies.”

The group urged the Federal Government to revisit interest rates, rationalise tariffs, and accelerate the implementation of cost-saving programmes such as the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas initiative.

The PUNCH reported that MAN’s Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, has lamented the declining productivity and export performance of its members. The new data from the NBS has further confirmed the group’s concerns and highlighted the need for urgent government intervention to revive the manufacturing sector.

Industry experts, including the former president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Prof. Segun Ajibola, have warned that unless swift policy actions are taken, Nigeria risks losing more ground in global trade and job creation through manufacturing.

In a phone interview, the former CIBN president, Ajibola, said that the factors that influenced the manufacturing sector’s performance, including economic reforms, have led to manufacturers “taking a bash”.

He identified the friendliness of the manufacturers’ operating environment, cost profile and nature of business as the three key factors to assess the economy’s impact on the sector.

Ajibola explained, “Three things will determine the performance of the manufacturing sector, and embedded in those three things could be a thousand and one things. Number one is the friendliness of the operating environment. What determines friendliness will include government policies, environmental issues, market conditions, and conditions of export and import.

He continued, “Number two is the cost profile. However friendly an environment might be, if it’s not cost-efficient and manufacturers cannot operate profitably because there’s no charity, they will cry out.

“The third one is the nature of the business. There are manufacturing concerns whose products are essential for the day-to-day livelihood of the people. So, come boom, come recession, they will still produce and sell. Others are luxuries or semi-luxuries. When the disposable income of an average consumer goes down, it removes those things.”

Ajibola called on sub-nationals to pay attention to manufacturing concerns in their localities instead of overtaxing them, stating, “The attention is over-concentrated at the centre. States put obstacles in the way of businesses within their locations. How can manufacturing businesses survive in the states where they send thugs in the name of the collection of local government fees, taxes, or whatever name they have for it?”

The economist called on businesses at the local and state government levels to consider strategies to encourage local industry, stressing, “What can states themselves do to encourage manufacturing concerns within their jurisdiction? States and local governments are not doing enough in Nigeria, while everybody is shouting about the federal government.”

Ajibola also urged MAN to partner with other members of the organised private sector, including the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, to establish a research department to produce actionable policy documents to influence government decision-making.