Nigeria: Sona Breweries Plc seeks concession on can importation

Sona Breweries Plc has pleaded with the Federal Government to allow the company to import cans with some duty concessions pending the time the company would be able to produce locally, The Tide posted August 25.

The Executive Director of the company, Mr. Thompson Owoka, made the plea during a visit by the Special Adviser to the President on manufacturing and private sector, Alhaji Ahmed Abdulkadir to the factory at Ota, Ogun State.

Thompson said: “If granted, the moment there is a local producer of cans, the duty of concession can be withdrawn. This is our plea and it is our request and we believe you are going to grant us our request.”

Owoka was quoted as saying in a statement received recently that the involvement of the special adviser in the course of the industry would never go unnoticed, as he had helped in the renewal of the glass industry.

He said: “In our efforts to extend our distribution to the European market and other West African countries, we adopted canning system. And to bring these cans into Nigeria, fill it and take it to the outside markets, the cost is very high – so we are pleading with the government that between now and for a concession time there will be a can production line in Nigeria.

“We want a duty concession on whatever cans we are importing. This is because we have started the exportation of the products in bottles, but it is not good enough, that is why we are changing to cans.”

He noted that in the last three years, surcharges for the various duties had gone up by more than 500 per cent. He also called the attention of the special adviser to the issue of certification given by ECOWAS, which takes a long time. He urged the government to come to the rescue of those seeking the certification.

He said that the operating costs of business were high in Nigeria, especially port congestion, insecurity and poor infrastructure, including roads, power and water.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .