The federal government has set up a committee that would investigate the remote and immediate causes of the collapse of the privatised paper mills in the country with a view to finding lasting solutions for their revitalisation.

This was disclosed yesterday in Lagos, by the Director, Industrial Development Department, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), Mr. Adewale R. Bakare, in his goodwill message at a one-day national workshop organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in collaboration with the Raw Materials Research and Development Council of Nigeria (RMRDC).

The theme of the workshop was: "Challenges, Prospects and Raw Materials Demand in the Printing, Packaging and Publishing Industry."

Bakare, who was represented by an Assistant Director, Industry Development Department, FMITI, Mrs. Ajayi-Ade Olumuyiwa, said the investigation of the privatised paper mills was part of the government's effort to combat the deteriorating situation in the pulp and paper sector of the economy.

He said: "The federal government, through the FMITI, is currently working towards the resuscitation and strategic development of the sector by setting up an Inter-Agency Committee (IAC), which was mandated to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the collapse of the privatised paper mills and find lasting solutions for their revitalisation with a view to coming up with a sector specific policy.

"The government is optimistic that with the implementation of the sectoral policy, the pulp and paper industry will be repositioned to be one of the foremost sectors to drive the economic recovery of the nation thereby creating massive employment opportunities and revenue generation along all its extensive value chains."

The Director General of the RMRDC, Professor Hussaini D. Ibrahim, who is also a member of the IAC, said in his goodwill message that only the Nigerian Paper Mill in Jebba is presently operational after the paper mills companies were privatised in 2006.

The other companies that were privatised were the Nigeria Newsprint Manufacturing Company, Oku Iboku, and the Iwopin Pulp and Paper Company, Iwopin.

Nigeria currently produce only 240,000 tonnes of paper locally, which is a far cry from the country's annual need of 3 million metric tonnes per year.

Ibrahim, who was represented by a Director at RMRDC, Mr. Ogunwusi Abimbola Adesanya, said the effect of these deficiencies were reflected in import trade figures for paper, paperboard and art paper.

He said: "According to COMTRADE database on international trade (2022), Nigeria import of these items (paper) in 2020 alone was $696 million... In exact terms, importation of paper and paper products in Nigeria has compromised over 300,000 jobs that would have been available for Nigerians.

"Hope is still far from the horizon as the remnant of surviving local paper manufacturers are still contending with issues of obsolete and vandalised equipment, inability to access funds and monumentally dilapidated public infrastructure."

The keynote speaker during the workshop, Prof. Abiodum Oluwafemi Oluwadare, of the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, Department of Forest Production and Products, University of Ibadan, said Nigeria could make more money exporting paper than from crude oil.

He said: "A kilogram of oil will cost 53 cents while pulp will cost 86 cents. Paper is more expensive than oil and I can prove it anywhere any day anytime."

The President of the LCCI, Dr. Michael Oluwale-Cole, in his welcome address, noted that according to the National Bureau of Statistics' foreign trade report for third quarter 2021, Nigeria spent N410 billion on importation of paper making material, paper and paperboard articles from January to September 2021.

Oluwale-Cole said: "The country export of N1.3 billion during the same period implies that huge scarce foreign exchange is being expended on importation of materials that could be produced locally."

The Chairperson of Pulp Paper and Paper Products, Printing and Publishing, LCCI, Ms. Funmilayo Bakare Okeowa, said the paper sector was very important to national economy and educational well-being of Nigerians.

She said: "The industry without doubt is grappling with lots of challenges, which affect the smooth running of the day-to-day activities of the sector.

"To begin with is the high cost of paper; in which various factors come into play to influence the increment of paper prices. Such factors include electricity supply and fuel cost, paper mill closures, and also increased demands for tissue papers at home shifted production priorities."

Copyright This Day. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source News Service English