THE foreign exchange policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has received commendation from the local manufacturers in Ogun State.

The group of manufactures said that the policy was a game changer for a large chunk of local manufacturers not only in the state but in the country.

According to them, the foreign exchange measures came at the appropriate time to save and sustain the manufacturing sector.

The Deputy Managing Director of Tempo Paper Pulp and Packaging Limited, Mr. Nassos Sidirofagis, said at a press conference that the impacts of the forex since its introduction had brought about positive developments in his company’s production level.

Sidirofagis, who spoke at Obasanjo Farm, Ota, Ogun State, said that the manufacturers cannot agree less to the new policy as it not only doubled their production capacity, but had led to expansion to meet increasingly higher demands for their products and services.
He, however, cautioned that it was significant for the CBN and Federal Government to lessen the challenges being faced by local manufacturers in their capability to expand.

Doing so, Sidirofagis said, would help government to prevent the Greece experience, which led to the collapse of the European country’s economy.
He explained that since the foreign exchange policy began, Tempo had increased its production capacity from 50 to 70 percent.

Sidirofagis also said that the policy had impacted positively on their propensity to increase exports with higher volumes, which, according to him, would also fetch proportionate higher foreign exchange earnings for the country.

The deputy managing director of Tempo further said that the policy had assisted the manufacturers to realise the urgent need to expand because of increasing demands for their products in the market.

Sidirofagis disclosed that Tempo had concluded plans to embark on project expansion between 2016 and 2017 due to increasing demands.
“We have since developed capacity to also attract foreign investors, who we believe are exploring investment opportunities in our organisation,” he said, adding: “Therefore, on all sides this is a win-win situation for Nigeria and local manufacturers.”
To tackle the challenges facing local manufacturer’s capability to expand, Sidirofagis stated that government should focus more on manufacturers so that Nigeria will not witness the economic collapse Greece experienced recently.

He counsel government to put the policy in place for a minimum of two years to facilitate full development of local capacity to attract investors.
Also speaking, a manufacturer, Mr Oluwasesan Taiwo-Tijani, corroborated Sidirofagis’s submission on the benefits of the forex policy, saying that his company had benefitted from it.

Taiwo-Tijani, who is the Group Operation Manager of SREN Chemicals Limited, explained that the CBN forex policy had forced several companies that are import-driven to patronise SREN Chemicals.

“This impacted on our sales and our productive capacity has increased by 30 per cent,” he said, while pleading with the President to preserve the policy in order to sustain local content development.

He also added that retaining the policy would turn the country into an export dependent one.