……As Food & Beverage West Africa opens in Lagos
Players in the food and beverage sector have called on the governments of African countries to address the increasing costs of manufacturing on the continent.
Rising production costs they said will force importers to flood the African market with goods which raw materials are sourced within the continent.
They said the prohibitive costs of machinery, fluctuations in exchange rate and epileptic supply of power remain key challenges affecting the production of the food and beverage value chain on the continent.
Speaking at the opening of a three day Food & Beverage West Africa in Lekki , Lagos, organiser of the exhibition and Managing Director of B to B Events, Jammie Hill described the programme as another platform for manufacturers, distributors, traders and other players in the value chain to address concerns about rising cost and scarcity of food items.
Hill said the fourth edition of the exhibition, is the largest edition to support the Nigerian businesses post Covid.
Enumerating over 50 exhibitors from across the continents participating in the programme, Hill said the programme will provide leverage for Nigerian and global businesses to explore issues bordering on new supply chain opportunities, expanding the frontiers of electronic commerce, contributions to the gross domestic product, creating of new partnerships and related issues.
Also speaking, General Secretary of Food and Beverage Association of Ghana , Samuel Ato Aggrey called on African countries to look inwards in the processing and manufacturing of foods and beverages as limited supply of grains from outside the continent, including the Russian/ Ukrainian war has thrown up the need for African to grow food to feed the world.
He called for harmonization of resources and policies by African countries to deepen the value chain.
Aggrey said African countries should less talk and escalate action on how to produce more food and beverage products.
He said Ghana sent a delegation to the Food 7 Beverage West Africa exhibition to get first hand information and partner with Nigeria to attract more Ghanaian products.
Aggrey said : ” Leaders in Africa must harmonize what we have in common, especially raw material;s for producing food. The major challenge we have is lack of machinery. If we are able to acquire the appropriate production machines with the raw materials, do less talk and carry out action with the right policy instruments, it will encourage more production.
On his part, Chairman of Food and Beverage Market Onitsha, Chief Victor Nwauze commended the organisers for creating a platform to connect importers and traders.
He said the exhibition has created a window for traders to save travel expenses and other inconveniences associated with movement to meet the required partners in the food and beverage value chain.
He said : ” This exhibition will create a huge impact for the economy , it will create a window for negotiations for manufacturers to introduce new products. It will expand the taxation net for the government if more goods are manufactured in the country. Many food and beverage products are not manufactured in Nigeria, because it is cheaper to import. The cost of production is very high. We are calling on the government to take urgent steps to reduce the cost of production.”
