Standardising Nigeria’s export products

The media was recently awash with news of the international certification of laboratories belonging to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). Olusegun Aganga, minister of industry, trade and investment, who spoke at the official commissioning of SON’s twin office building at its headquarters in Abuja last week, reportedly said the laboratories would now certify products exported from Nigeria to other markets and ensure they meet international standards.

“Prior to the certification of the accredited laboratories, we could not export, for example, yam to the United Kingdom because we did not have the quality infrastructure to do that. Those who exported goods from Nigeria went to Ghana to test them and Ghana takes the credit because it is recorded in their name,” Aganga said.

What can be inferred from Aganga’s assertion is that local manufacturing exporters now have the opportunity of testing their products in local laboratories, ensure they meet international standards before taking them to the international market.

Prior to this, many Nigerian exporters often had their exports rejected at the borders of countries of Europe, North America and Asia, with claims that these made-in-Nigeria products were not internationally certified and consequently did not meet the domestic standards of destination countries. The implication was that a large number of these products were returned to Nigeria, with huge cost burdens on exporters and the economy. BusinessDay has interacted with few of these exporters and can confirm that the cost of returning those products back to the country was often higher than the initial cost of exporting them.

We commend this move and see it as one that can help the country’s quest for industrialisation. First, it will begin to place products leaving the country on a par with those manufactured in Europe, Asia, North America and other continents. This will increase the competitiveness of the country’s exports, which is needed at this point when the country is facing exchange rate volatility, oil price dip and lack of diversification, among other challenges.

This also has the capacity to drive invention and paradigm shift in manufacturing firms as players will be more inclined to improve operations. In turn, it would increase Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and reduce the pressure on the naira.

It may also be extrapolated that this could result in improvement in the quality of products produced and sold in the local market. It is almost possible, given the high cost of production in the country, for manufacturing exporters to have one standard for the local market and another for the international market.

The efforts of international agencies to improve Nigeria’s products also deserve mention. The European Union, in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, has an on-going project for Nigeria called National Quality Infrastructure (NQI). The EU earmarked a total of €12 million for the project, which is expected to last for four years.

NQI is composed of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the EU, UNIDO, SON, and the National Agency for Food, Drugs and Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Other members are Weight and Measures Department, Consumer Protection Council, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), National Planning Commission and the Nigeria Customs.

Like SON’s laboratories, we believe this infrastructure will enhance the quality of made-in-Nigeria products, some of which still need improvement. We commend the EU and UNIDO for this strategic move to help boost Nigeria’s quest for diversification, while we also call on other international organisations to join hands in making Nigeria an industrialised economy as this will provide a win-win for everybody.

As the newly-elected government comes on board on May 29 amid economic headwinds, we believe it can leverage this bold step to help boost the industrial sector to ensure the country depends less on oil.