Experts have said that localisation of the supply chain will help curb the effect of major dislocations in the global supply chain, such as disease outbreaks, war, etc

Speaking at a forum organised by the Financial Derivatives company in Lagos recently, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Flour Mills Nigeria, Omoboyede Olusanya advised the federal government on strategies to salvage unforeseen shocks.

Olusanya who was one of the panellists at the event, said, “If you look at the manufacturing business, we deal with two aspects, the upstream aspect- this is where you get your raw materials and then the downstream aspect where you sell.

“So the upstream aspect relies on both local and international supply which has caused a major supply dislocation, caused by the Russian-Ukraine war which Africa depends on for wheat. And that means we must begin to consider how much we can localise the supply chain.”

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He noted, “That also does not stop the fact that there are global issues, as a company we survived and we are able to manage the supply chain but it continues to be the biggest thing that drives us to be optimistic. Therefore, how do we optimise production?  One of the biggest forms of stability is to localise our production of raw materials. And we notice a major drive for full self-sufficiency to produce what we consume. I mean it is a continuous conversation. We always realise that the reality is we want to drive for excess production.”

According to him, if manufacturers only have the chance to industrialise, produce and export based on local materials but they cannot export when the people are starving.

Olusanya noted there are a number of issues stifling the local supply chain in Nigeria from insecurity to funding and other human-focused issues.

The Managing Director and Founder of Babban Gona, Kola Masha charged business owners to adjust their strategies by localising their supply chain.