- FG Plans Policy to Revive Ceramic Sector
The Federal Government has said it will soon come up with a policy that will revive the ceramic segment of the economy.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, said this on Tuesday during a meeting with the President of Dajo Pottery Limited, Levi Yakubu.
She stated that the policy, which would soon be announced, would help to reposition the sector and make it become a foreign exchange earner for the country.
The minister lamented that the sector had suffered neglect over the years and stated that by repositioning it, more jobs would be created for the people.
Abubakar said the government understood the challenges facing practitioners in the sector and noted that the policy would assist to address some of these impediments.
“We are in the process of evolving the needed policy to guide the ceramic sector and we will need the input of persons like you to ensure that areas, which need to be addressed by the coming policy to the advantages of practitioners and our national economic development, are taken into consideration,” she stated.
The minister explained that while Nigeria had the much needed talent in key sectors of the economy, the right policy that would harness these talents was lacking.
She said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to engaging stakeholders in various sectors so as to enable the government come up with needed policies that would guarantee growth in the non-oil sector.
In his remarks at the event, Yakubu urged the minister to quickly address the challenges in the sector.
He said the total market value for ceramics in Nigeria grew from $317m in 2009 to $600m in 2015. Thus, translating into giving an average growth rate of 150 per cent.