The leading manufacturers’ body, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( LCCI) has predicted that the contribution of manufacturing to gross domestic product (GDP) may fall from the 8.2 percent recorded in the third quarter of 2022, except government takes targeted financing support to critical productive infrastructure in the country.
Director General of the Lagos based group, Chinyere Almona made this forecast in the Chamber’s statement on the economy 2023, where she explained that the manufacturing sector suffered from headwinds like scarcity of forex for import of inputs, weakened consumer demand due to weak purchasing power, high energy cost, logistical challenges, policy uncertainties and harsh regulatory environment.
However, with these factors persisting into 2023, the chamber is of the view that the sector may likely record a growth away from the negative growth of -1.9 per cent as at Q3 of 2022. According to her, with the lowering imports due to forex scarcity, local manufacturing could rev up in growth to meet the growing unmet local demand for hitherto imported finished products.
