The raging inflation that characterised 2024 has taken its toll on manufacturing companies as they recorded approximately N1.4 trillion worth of unsold inventories last year.
The President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Francis Meshioye, who shared the data at a Press briefing on Wednesday, said the mounting stockpile highlights the severe impact of inflation on production, sales and erosion of the purchasing power of consumers.
He said the worrisome development has once again called for urgent economic reforms to support the manufacturing sector.
Meshioye acknowledged that the sector faced significant struggles last year, with its contribution to the GDP substantially affected by a range of challenges, including soaring energy costs, rampant inflation, fluctuating exchange rates, and a heavy burden of multiple taxes.
He said: “In 2024, Nigeria’s manufacturing sector encountered a myriad of macroeconomic and infrastructural challenges that severely impacted its performance.
“The sector faced mounting pressure from high inflation, a depreciating naira, rising interest rates, escalating electricity tariffs, record low sales, the multiplicity of taxes and levies, and militating security concerns.
“These factors collectively strained the sector’s profitability and curtailed its contribution to the nation’s GDP.”
