Fakers squeeze Nigerian paint  industry   

Some unscrupulous elements are faking genuine made-in-Nigeria paints in the country, thereby squeezing the local industry and putting it at a competitive disadvantage.

Most of the fakers use the labels of genuine manufacturers and often sell cheaper than the authentic players that have spend so much money in research and development. Some of the fakers operate in neighbouring West African and African countries as well as Asia and import into the country after production.

“People are faking and adulterating our products,” said Rotimi Aluko, chairman, Paints Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMA) at a coatings show held recently in Lagos..

“They are neither known to the taxpayer nor the regulatory body. For you to live up to standards as manufacturers, you must invest in technology, quality manpower and in your processes. But these people do not care,” said Aluko, who is also the managing director of Voda Paints, at the show themed, ‘Enhancing Coatings Quality for the Future’.

He said the inability of paint makers to access funds is weighing heavily on the industry, adding that poor infrastructure is a bane to the industry.

Nigerian has over 87 paint makers, including major players such as Berger Paints, Chemical and Allied Products, Voda Paints, D.N Meyer, Premier Paints, Portland Paints and Products, among others.

Some players in the industry that supplied products to both public and private sectors in the past are currently being owed, thereby putting the already cash-strapped industry in further peril, BusinessDay has learnt.

The industry’s bottom line has fallen in the last two years, owing to a low level of competitiveness, resulting from unbridled importation, much of which is sub-standard.

“We have consistently said that anybody who imports must import what is acceptable,” said Joseph Ikem Odumodu, director-general, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), who was represented by Louis Njoku, director of laboratory science, SON.

“Nigeria, in recent times, has become a dumping ground. But we must protect the local industry. Most of the good things in Nigeria are played down. The best cables in the world are produced in the country. But if you do not invest in research and development or if you do not improve on one thing in a year, you may die soon, given the speed with which things run now,” he said.

In several parts of the world, stringent punishments, including jail terms, are given to fakers as well as importers or local producers of sub-standard products. Experts say faking has become a dangerous phenomenon, marring the country’s quest for diversification.

Tunde Oyelola, chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Group, told BusinessDay that there should be a transnational trademarks for ECOWAS Region.

“Indeed, the level of counterfeiting and cloning of Nigerian manufactured products in the ECOWAS and other African markets is becoming alarming and many Nigeria manufacturers are losing markets to these counterfeited products. We have recorded cases where goods that have Nigerian trademarks are counterfeited in Asian countries and exported back to African market with the impression that the goods are produced in Nigeria,” Oyelola said.

 

ODINAKA ANUDU

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