Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) has said that the Federal Government’s decision on foreign exchange restrictions to food import is favourable to the association and manufacturers in the country.
The Chairman, Lagos State Chapter of NASME, Solomon Aderoju, who stated this in Lagos, preparatory to the Association’s 3rd Edition of Business Round table scheduled to hold on August 29th, noted that the policy statement will help in strengthening the country’s currency.
Aderoju pointed out that forex restriction will help conserve Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, adding that it will adversely enhance the already weakened Naira.
Commending the government for the decision, he said, this is the only way MSMEs would grow, adding that more jobs would be created if well implemented.
According to the Vice President, S/W, NASME, Oladipo Jemi-Alade, the government pronouncement is a new opportunity for the members and other manufacturers in the country to explore the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), saying that the round table was apt.
He said, “Now that AfCFTA is open unto us, we have to be prepared for the next level. We want to be in a position to compete favorably with our foreign counterparts. For this reason, we are upgrading our skills, and we have embarked on membership training nationwide to build skills and capacity.”
In his response, Adam Adebayo, Chairman, NASME Cooperative noted that over 200 members have accessed the Anchor Borrowers Fund, stressing that the group has been advocating a ban on imported food to enable them process and sell their local produce.
Adebayo said; “We have been exporting primary produce, but now that there is a new development, we are happy because we would be able to add value by processing all our products through our value chain. With this, the government will now bring back the Commodity Board, which will be responsible for price control so that the farmers will not record losses.”
