Producers of energy drinks in the country have urged the Federal Government to protect newly established industries from foreign competition, and save direct employment of over 2,000 Nigerians and their numerous dependents.
The local producers said they have the capacity to produce enough drinks that can serve the entire country.
They urged the Federal Government to safeguard the health of Nigerians from compromised formulation of imported energy and health drinks.
According to them, most of the imported energy or health drinks could not withstand Nigeria’s temperature on storage, and they often bursted and constituted hazardous risk in the open market.
In a statement by the Director-General, Africa Brands Group, Mr Ayodele Joseph, they said, “There is a need to prevent the dumping of cheap foreign goods in Nigeria.
“Banning the importation of energy or health drinks will lead to more investment in local production, higher capacity utilisation, and a boost for the export drive of the local manufacturers.
“We need to stem the tide of Nigerian companies relocating to neighboring countries due to the seemingly hostile production environment. Nigeria needs to protect the high investment and employment opportunities in all associated companies e.g. Can and corrugated cartons industry.”
The local producers sought urgent actions to prevent sudden collapse of over $500m investments in the local industries involved in the production of energy/ health drinks.
“We hereby request urgent addition of energy or health drinks to the Nigeria import prohibition list,” it stated.
It noted that the unexpected decline in the local manufacture of energy drinks was already affecting investment in the associated industries.
According to the statement, “Nigeria’s external reserves need to be preserved for only essential imports. From the time of the last review of the import prohibition list, over 10 brands have invested in the local production of energy or health drinks. As of date, total investment is over $500m.”
