An estimated N15 billion is lost annually to fake or counterfeit products in terms of tax revenue to the government, income to local manufacturers and employment generation to Nigerians.
The director, Legal Services, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Suleiman Kawo, dropped this hint when the agency hosted the staff and management of the Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, who came on a study tour of the agency in Abuja.
Kawu regretted that the high volume of counterfeit and sub-standard products in the domestic market was a threat to Nigeria’s economy, raising serious doubts on current efforts by the federal government to resuscitate the real sector to contribute meaningfully to the gross domestic product (GDP).
He disclosed that about 99 per cent of the fake products circulating in Nigeria markets came from China, adding that Nigeria is China’s second largest trading partner in Africa after South Africa, but China benefits more from this partnership. He also informed that the SON had alerted the authorities in China about this problem but the government of the Asian nation was somewhat hesitant to enter into any binding agreement with the agency that would ensure that any product produced in that region for the Nigerian market, if found wanting, should not only be shipped back to its country of origin but that the companies responsible would be prosecuted.
He said the Chinese government was reluctant because some Nigerian entrepreneurs compel some Chinese companies to produce sub-standard goods and these companies consent because they do not want to lose good business.
“Unfortunately, what many Nigerians do not understand is that China manufactures for Europe and America. Before the emergence of China’s economy, South Korea and Japan were seen by Europe as a base for low-cost labour which offered low production cost. It all translated to low prices of goods. Note that low price is not the same as poor quality of, or cheap, goods. The price of a product is largely, determined by the cost of producing the product. Following the 1990s reforms in China, the country emerged to challenge the biggest economies of the world.
“It has come on top of such economies, given the availability of a large labour force, superior power supply, low taxation and favourable currency exchange rate. Major investors in Europe, America and even Asia now turn to China to produce goods which they could not produce in their respective countries,” Kawo said.
Like American and British investors, Nigerians have also turned to China to produce. But while American and British investor-vendors have respect for model and quality specifications in accordance with the prescriptions in their respective countries, their Nigerian counterparts prefer to cut corners to make ungodly profits.
“Worse still, the Chinese factories accept to produce whatever poor quality that is asked for by the Nigerian investor-vendors. The Nigerian investor goes to China with products for which they have no copyright for counterfeiting, without the Chinese factories asking questions or complying with the existing laws,” Kawo explained.
Leadership
