The Federal Government has been urged to make policies that will create an enabling environment for plastic manufacturers to carry out their businesses profitably. This includes reduction of import duty on plastic raw materials.

This call was made by Managing Director, Lemmy Plastics, Steve Oludaramola, in a media parley in his office in Lagos.

According to the India-trained engineer, many factors are responsible for the harsh business environment. Acknowledging efforts being made by the government to encourage manufacturing sector, he said more needed to be done to boost the performance of the sector.

Oludaramola listed multiple taxation as a major threat to the manufacturing sector. He said the uncoordinated tax system has compounded the challenges facing business owners, stressing that employers would continue to downsize except concerted efforts are made to address the problem.

The industrialist advised the government to make raw materials for the plastic industry duty free to reduce the cost of manufacturing, attract more investment to the sector and increase its job-creating capacity.

He observed that Eleme Petro Chemicals, a major plastic raw-material producer, cannot meet the increasing demands of the local market, a situation, he said, has forced operators to seek solace overseas.

In a letter dated January 24, 2013, Oludaramola appealed to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to prevail on the government to review duty on imported plastic raw materials. He also tasked relevant authorities to checkmate the activities of smugglers.