Relief for ailing $600m ceramics industry as investors show interest

The wobbling ceramics industry valued at $600 million may be on the verge of resuscitation, as interest from the private sector picks up on the back of renewed enlightenment on the industry’s huge opportunities for growth and returns.

Gian Paolo Crasta, marketing and communication manager, Association of Italian Manufacturers of Machinery for Ceramics (AIMAC) is set to announce today (Thursday, August 28) plans by investors from Italy, to tap into the Nigerian tile sub-sector, while also providing the needed machineries for local businessmen who may be interested in the manufacture of the product. 

Also, the West African Ceramics Limited (WACL) has  recently announced interest to set up a $50 million ceramics plant (mainly tiles) at Agbara, Ogun State.

Similarly, over 100 individuals and private firms are currently

participating in the on-going first international ceramics trade fair, holding in Lagos, to learn from experts about how to exploit available raw materials such as kaolin, feldspar, silicon, clay and quartz, among others, for the manufacture of bricks, pipes, floor and roof tiles, table wares, pottery products, sanitary wares, wall tiles and earthenware, among others.

‘’We are also expecting investors from Spain, India and other countries,’ said Patrick Oaikhinan, CEO, Epina Technologies Limited, whose firm hosts the trade fair in affiliation with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).

‘’What I think we need now, are the enabling laws to encourage investors.  We also need institutions to provide capital for prospective start-ups in local ceramics production,’’ he said.

Globally, it is estimated that the industry will be worth $408 billion in 2018. But Nigeria has mostly remained an importer of the product, currently ranking 9th among  global ceramics consumers.

China is the leader in the industry, while India is also catching up. But the industry, which is estimated to provide up to 1.2 million jobs, is bogged down by skills gaps, which have made very few local ceramics makers to struggle with harnessing and processing of locally available raw materials. 

‘’It is unfortunate that there is no ceramics institute in a big economy like Nigeria, like they have in China and other countries. Some universities and knowledge centres which teach ceramics arts in Nigeria do not even have the potter’s wheels. This brings to mind the need for curriculum development,’’ said Dorothy Nwanah, assistant director, Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).

 In India, about 5.5 million people are directly and indirectly employed by the industry , according to Rajesh Nath, managing director, German Engineering Federation (VDMA), India. In the unorganised sector, around 250 companies produce basic sanitary ware under various brand names in the country, with a market size of 350 million Euros, according to Nath.

But in Nigeria, industry capacity remains low, on the back of lack of a well-defined policy, skills gaps and the fact that many Nigerian businessmen are in a hurry to make quick returns, rather than invest in local production.

‘’We can see there are a number of opportunities in the sector. The ministry has developed facilities to improve the ceramics industry. RMRDC has a stockpile of raw materials to help the sector. If entrepreneurs take advantage of this sector, we can have a lot of foreign exchange,’’ said Abdu Bulama, minister for science and technology, who was represented by Manasseh Gwaza, director of physical and life sciences of the ministry.

Businessday