Why Erisco Foods expanded production lines to 16

Erisco Foods Limited is now a well-diversified manufacturer, having expanded business lines to 16.

Apart from tomato paste, the foods maker has moved into the packaging of garri, sugar, coffee, tea, milk, among many others, all of which are made locally.

Erisco does not currently produce these products, but buys from original manufacturers and packages them for consumers.

According to Eric Umeofia, founder and chief executive officer of Erisco Foods Limited, the company was doing this to support other local manufacturers.

“We buy them locally and package for consumers. Very soon we will build industries to support them,” Umeofia told BusinessDay.

He said he was interested in creation more jobs in the Nigerian economy through the value chain, stressing that with support, local manufacturers could produce anything that was currently being imported.

“We have the capacity here. We can make what we import from China, here. If we are waiting to be self-sufficient before banning certain goods like foods from coming into this country, the remaining industries will die. If you ban, you give local industries opportunity to grow and invest more.” he said.

“If you say, ‘let us overtax them’, they will bring in goods worth $50 million and tell you it is $10 million. That is how bad it is in the country now,” he added.

ODINAKA ANUDU