NAN-HE-4
Export
By Simon Akoje
Lagos, Nov. 22, 2016 (NAN) Some business experts on Tuesday said that the resumption of Export Expansion Grant (EEG) by the Federal Government would make businesses boom as well as boost export.
The experts, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, noted that the reintroduction of grant would also enable exporters to cope with the current recession.
A confectionery, Mrs Precious Aremu, said that resuming the programmes would ensure that indigenous manufacturers produce commodities that would be of international standards.
Aremu, the Chief Executive Officer of Palinio Cookies, also said that bringing back the idea would enable businesses to expand and have good percentage of the market shares.
“The grant will boost businesses; our commodities have been on a high demand in Latin America but cannot cope with the needed financial requirement to expand.
“However, government should urgently help local manufacturers in this direction, as the grant will improve on their performances a lot,’’ he said.
An industrialist, Mr Muda Yusuf, said that resumption of the export expansion grant policy would serve as an incentive for domestic exporters.
Yusuf, the Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also said that the grant should be disbursed to citizens, who are qualified in order to avoid the mistakes of the past.
“This time around, they should be more transparent, so as to avoid any abuse of the process.
“If government can give N300 billion grant to exporters, the country’s economy will move to the next level of development and gradually edge out of recession,’’ he said.
The government had said that it would resume the implementation of the EEG in 2017 with the settlement of outstanding claims to exporters.
According to the available figures obtained from the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the grant is worth over N300 billion that are unclaimed.
The EEG is an initiative of the Federal Government, meant to encourage exporters of non-oil products, including agro-commodities.
The initiative is intended to cushion the effects of infrastructure deficiencies and reduce overall unit cost of production. (NAN)
STA/ENN/YEMI
(Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu/Yemi Idris-Aduloju