Poor perception forces manufacturers to brand local goods ‘made in Asia’

Poor perception of locally made goods among Nigerian consumers is driving domestic manufacturers to brand their products ‘made in Asia or Europe’.

The perception has also driven these manufacturers to swoop on Nigerians’ penchant for foreign or imported goods to brand their products with foreign labels so as to sell at higher prices at larger quantity and make more profits.

The implication of this is that many of these products are not captured as locally manufactured goods in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) calculation, experts say.

The practice is common among companies owned by Asians, particularly those making ceramic tiles, iron and steel, cosmetics and food products. It is also a common practice among footwear makers, especially those in Aba, the commercial city of Abia State. This is also seen among fashion designers and textile makers.

Experts blame this on the attitude of Nigerians who often see locally made goods as inferior while regarding products from Europe, the Americas and some parts of Asia as superior.

“It is about the attitude of Nigerians who believe that anything made in this country is inferior, which is unfortunate,” said Frank S. Udemba Jacobs, president, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in an interview with BusinessDay.

“This attitude could drive unscrupulous manufacturers to brand their products ‘made-in-Britain’ as a market gimmick to impress upon consumers that this is a foreign product. But I repeat, this is an unscrupulous practice because it tends to deceive the consumer,” Jacobs, who is also the chief executive officer (CEO) of Jacobs Wines, said.

Responding to a question regarding this practice among some manufacturers in Ogun State recently, Rasheed Olaoluwa, MD/CEO, Bank of Industry (BoI), said many Nigerian consumers still have an inferiority complex to locally made products. Olaoluwa said this trend is inimical to the country’s economic progress.

“We need to get over this inferiority complex among our citizens. We should be proud and see a product made in the country as our own,” Olaoluwa said.

According to him, the blame should also be shared by Nigerian marketers who put pressure on manufacturers to change the labels of their products from local to foreign as they complain that goods with local labels are often rejected in preference for imported ones with foreign insignia.

Clear evidence has shown that locally made products are not in any way inferior to foreign or imported products. Firms such as Cadbury, Nestlé, Lafarge, Evarest Metal, Dangote, Vitafoam, Flour Mills, Honey Well and Tower Aluminium, among many others, have high quality products that dwarf foreign goods in quality by miles. Their products meet international standards and are exported to Europe, the Americas and other parts of the world. In 2013 alone, for instance, De-United Foods exported Indomie worth about $50 million to America, Europe and other parts of the world.

“Even in the cable industry, Nigerian products are superior to Chinese. In fact, Chinese products are the sub-standard ones we are talking about,” Jacobs said.

But some experts say this is not always a case of poor perception. They say it could result from agreements between manufacturers of different climes. They cite the case of Nike, producer of a wide range of sports equipment, which has over 600 shops around the world and offices in 45 countries outside the United States as a case in point.