Nigeria spends N3.53trn on raw material imports in H1’25

…19.7% year-on-year increase
•70% manufacturing inputs imported – RMRDC
•Structural weakness compels manufacturers to import – MAN
•It’s nonaccomplishment of import substitution argumentation – LCCI
•Why import substitution is important – CPPE

By Yinka Kolawole

Contrary to plans and expectations, Nigeria’s manufacturing assemblage is progressively depending connected imported earthy materials for survival, a improvement which has undermined the government’s import substitution policy.

Financial Vanguard’s findings revealed that earthy materials imports accrued by 19.7 per cent, year-on-year (y/y) to N3.53 trillion successful the archetypal fractional of 2025 (H1’25) from N2.95 trillion successful the corresponding play of past twelvemonth (H1’24).

Data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, shows large imports to see sweetener cane and associated products for the sweetener refining and confectionary industries, additives for lubricating oils manufacturers, sheets for veneering, hides and skins for leeather products.

The imports were mostly coming from Brazil, United States of America, United Kingdom, France, China, Germany and Tanzania.

There were besides dense earthy materials imports successful cement manufacturing, particularly successful specified products arsenic gypsum, portion overgarment producers trust connected importation of binders and resins.

Manufacturing assemblage stakeholders said the country’s rising dependence connected imported earthy materials was astatine variance with the import substitution extremity of the government, posing a important interest to the stakeholders, with unit connected the nation’s overseas speech resources.

Import substitution is simply a authorities argumentation to regenerate imported goods with locally manufactured ones to stimulate the home economy, conserve overseas speech and make jobs.

Analysts suggest that the importation of a ample percent of Nigeria’s manufacturing inputs is aggravated by precocious vigor costs, deficiency of section processing capableness and currency devaluation.

70% manufacturing inputs imported, needs 60% simplification – RMRDC

Raising concerns astir Nigeria’s excessive dependence connected imported earthy materials, Director General of Raw Materials Research and Development Council, RMRDC, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, disclosed that implicit 70 per cent of the inputs utilized successful the country’s manufacturing assemblage were inactive sourced from extracurricular the country.

According to him, this improvement reflects a large structural weakness that reduces the sector’s publication to GDP, hinders occupation creation, and increases accumulation costs. He added that the over-reliance connected imported inputs, compounded by factors specified arsenic speech complaint volatility, had driven costs disconnected limits of sustainability and threatens Nigeria’s concern future.

He warned that unless urgent reforms were made, the state risked remaining locked successful a rhythm of economical dependency.

He called for bold reforms to boost section assets utilisation and thrust concern transformation, adding that Nigeria indispensable trim its dependence connected overseas earthy materials by astatine slightest 60 per cent implicit the adjacent 5 years to reposition itself arsenic an concern powerhouse.

To further fortify in-country earthy worldly processing, helium disclosed that the national authorities precocious granted RMRDC the authorization to instrumentality important taxation inducement designed to reward manufacturers and innovators utilizing locally sourced inputs successful their accumulation processes.

“Very soon, manufacturers who research, make and patronise section earthy materials volition wage importantly little taxes than those who bash not. This is present an instrumental instrumentality for attracting private-sector concern and stimulating technology-driven manufacturing.

“In general, it is wide that to reposition Nigeria arsenic an concern powerhouse, we indispensable trim overseas earthy worldly imports by astatine slightest 60 per cent successful the adjacent 5 years and importantly summation section assets utilisation; incentivise worth summation done exertion adoption and taxation support; enactment the emergence of concern hubs and clusters astir strategical earthy worldly zones; deepen research–industry collaboration for tailored innovation; facilitate exertion transfer, infrastructure finance, and SME integration crossed the manuf...