NIGERIA: Dangote says US$800 million spent on imports annually
Published: 07/03/2009, 10:09:31 AM
The Chairman of Dangote Group of companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said that Nigeria spends US$800 million (NIN116 billion) annually on importing sugar that it can produce locally, according to Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper.
After the Annual General Meeting of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, the chairman said their commitment to increasing local production of sugar was partly a result of the desire to reduce wasting the country's scarce resources on the importation of the commodity.
However, he noted with concern that the operating environment of the Nigerian economy remained very difficult. He said the interest rate, which is over 20%, was very high and the general situation of the economy was bad.
"The poor state of the country's infrastructure and instability in the exchange rate persisted during the year. "This led to the high cost of production, which impacted negatively on businesses in the country.
"A number of businesses closed, while some relocated outside the country. The depreciation of the Naira to the US Dollar also affected our company as our major raw material is imported from Brazil ," he said.