Manufacturers are optimistic about the stability of the sector following a challenging period of unsold inventory and economic uncertainty, according to the Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Ogun State Chapter, George Onafowokan.
The PUNCH reported in 2024 that the MAN Ogun State chairman lamented the unsold inventory of members rising to N350bn due to soaring costs, forex scarcity, and infrastructural decay that has hobbled productivity.
Onafowokan, in an interview with The PUNCH, noted that the situation has improved in the mid-first quarter of 2025 as new manufacturing companies are opening up, as old ones find their balance. “The 2023-2024 figures were very bad,” he said.
“Exchange rate losses were very high. There was almost no manufacturer that was not declaring losses between 2023 and 2024. It was a bad year for everybody, which also created a situation of unsold stocks.
“Going into 2025, everybody has had to take the hit on their losses and either move forward or, unfortunately, we had some who closed shop, which was not good for our country, but whoever is left has managed to lick their wounds.”
