The Director-General, Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Husseini Ibrahim has pledged to work with the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, Europe (NIDOE) to ensure that best practices in raw materials production and processing are promoted in the country.
A statement by RMRDC’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Mr. Chuks Ngaha in Abuja said Prof. Ibrahim made the pledge when the diaspora organisation visited the Council.
The group was seeking partnership with the Council on how to make raw material products standard and acceptable by the international market.
Ibrahim stated that the partnership was important for the council and the country so as to make raw materials processing meet international standards.
He explained that the gap in products production processes was indeed a big challenge to achieving standard and should be corrected.
He said that one problem with exportation in Nigeria was lack of well-established structures and neglect for best practices in process development.
He explained that the mandate of the Council is to promote development of local raw materials for industrial growth, thereby promoting economic dependence and nation-building.
He stated that the Council was building a laboratory that would identify values and specifications of raw materials in Nigeria which would in turn facilitate value addition and bring about standardisation.
He also stated that the Council was an official member of the National Competitiveness Strategy Committee (NCSC).
“NCSC has the responsibility to look into exportation of indigenous products with a view to ensuring compliance to international standards and driving Nigeria’s competitiveness in raw materials and products development,’’ he said.
The leader of the NIDOE delegation in his remark, Mr Godson Azu, said United Kingdom has a market for Nigerian products, but the challenge was that the products failed to meet international standards.
According to him, some Nigerian products are either shipped illegally into Europe or exported by neighbouring countries such as Ghana and Cameroon, whereas, when attempts were made to export them legally from Nigeria, they would be termed substandard products.
“This problem is self-inflicted and unfortunate; Nigerians not having their products as mainstream in the UK market has become a thing of concern to Nigerians in diaspora.
“Consequently, the organisation has come to seek partnership with relevant stakeholders to solve the challenge of non-exportation of local products and promote its distribution abroad”, he added.
No Comments