FG ready to ban packet sugar importation - Aganga
See it also at the sun
The Federal Government says it has concluded plans to ban
importation of packaged sugar into the country with effect from next year. The
minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, disclosed this in Abuja yesterday
at the second Annual Seminar for Trade and Investment Correspondents and
Business Editors.
The ban which takes effect from January 2013, is an outcome
of the government’s policy framework as contained in the National Sugar Master
plan aimed at assisting the country in attaining self sufficiency in sugar
production. At the moment, he said Nigeria imports a large proportion of its
sugar needs, which is mainly brown sugar, lamenting that the few number of
sugar refineries in the country remained a major challenge to meeting the sugar
needs of the country.
On efforts to reposition the industrial sector, the minister
said the recently launched Industrial Revolution Master Plan, will
strategically position and empower the nation’s manufacturing sector as the key
driver of economic growth through job creation and increased contribution to
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Aganga said that as part of the industrial
revolution agenda, the Ministry of Trade and Investment had started
brainstorming with members of the Organized Private Sector (OPS) and the
Ministry of Power to reduce the cost of doing business in Nigeria and
ultimately increase the productivity of the manufacturing sector.
He said that the nation’s Industrial Revolution Plan would
be based on areas where the country had
comparative and competitive advantage, adding that the government had embarked
on far-reaching reforms aimed improving the business climate and making Nigeria
the preferred investment hub in Africa and globally. He said: “Africa’s share
of the global trade is only three per cent.
This is because Africa has been exporting raw materials
rather that exporting finished products. For us as a country, manufacturing is
very important because it solves three critical problems: it solves the problem
of GDP growth, unemployment and balance of payment.
Also, manufacturing is critical for wealth creation. “If we
are going to move from a poor nation to a rich country, industrialization holds
the key because it has the potential for unlocking the wealth of our country.
This is why we are kicking off an Industrial Revolution Plan for our country.”
