MAN demands regulation of foreigners in retail trade

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to regulate foreign nationals’ participation in Nigeria’s retail trade, amid concerns over the activities of Chinese traders in last-mile retail.

Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, made the call on Tuesday on the sidelines of a press briefing for the association’s 54th Annual General Meeting, weeks after traders protested against the alleged involvement of Chinese manufacturers in retail operations at the Lagos Trade Fair Complex.

Ajayi-Kadir said several countries have already operated frameworks that limit the extent of foreign companies’ engagement in certain sectors, and urged the press to scrutinise the matter.

“I think some countries actually have a measure of the level of engagement for foreign companies. I think there was a decision on that, and I believe that the press can continue to interrogate because the issue of trade is very important. The issue of immigration is very important.

“The issue of why you have come into a foreign country, what you have come to do, is important. So, if you get into that space and you start to engage in other levels of activities, then it calls into question what the relevant regulatory agencies are doing,” the MAN DG said.

He said MAN supported the patronage of made-in-Nigeria products, but faulted the encroachment of foreigners into spaces reserved for local businesses without adequate regulatory oversight.

“Of course, we support that our made-in-Nigeria products are treated and patronised, but the situation where foreigners are venturing into areas where they intrude as if the regulatory agencies are minding them. And if there are no extant laws to deal with that kind of thing, I think this is the time that should be considered,” Ajayi-Kadir said.

Meanwhile, the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise has, in a policy document, also raised concerns about the increasing participation of foreign nationals, particularly Chinese traders, in Nigeria’s retail and distributive trade sector.

Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Dr Muda Yusuf, said the trend threatened employment protection, fair competition and the integrity of the country’s immigration and business-permit regime.

“Retail trading is generally not a specialised activity requiring scarce foreign expertise. The increasing presence of non-nationals in such activities therefore raises legitimate questions about the effectiveness of the regulatory and immigration architecture,” Yusuf said.

The CPPE noted that the distributive trade sector employs an estimated 27.5 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce, and urged the government to review business permits and expatriate quotas granted to foreign nationals in the retail segment.

However, the think tank clarified that its position was not directed against Chinese investment generally, as China remains one of Nigeria’s leading trading partners.

It called on the government to strengthen enforcement of immigration and investment regulations, investigate complaints from Nigerian traders over direct foreign competition at the retail level, and encourage foreign businesses to invest upstream in manufacturing and other productive sectors instead.