LCCI boss lists challenges to value added non-oil exports

By Elizabeth Adegbesan

The Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Muda Yusuf, has said the creation of a competitive business environment will grow the non-oil sector citing high cost of production, taxation, logistics, regulatory policies among others as production  challenges depressing performance of the sector.

Speaking at the quarterly workshop of Business Editors last weekend, Yusuf also said the sector is presently dominated by non-Nigerians especially the non-oil export trade.

He stated: “We are talking non-oil, go and check with the exporters. The main thing Nigerians are doing is just logistics. The real business of trading these goods in the international market is done by foreigners. If we take out the oil and gas then that means we are not in any serious export business.”

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Meanwhile he also warned that non-oil export has become so imperative that if Nigeria did not diversify the economy would be cut up in bad shape giving the diversification of energy consumption world-wide away from fossil fuel.

He stated:  “There is a lot of campaigns against fossil fuel. There are some countries where in another ten years you cannot use fossil fuel for any vehicle and even motorcycle. So where are we going to sell the oil? How are we now going to generate the foreign exchange if we have a situation where about 90 percent is coming from oil and gas.

“We cannot diversify the performance of the non oil sector from the performance of the economy particularly the real economy because if as a manufacturer or producer either in agric or whatever, if your cost of production is very high, your cost of logistics is high on top of these you now have a problem of insecurity.”

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