Dunlop Sweeps Out of Nigeria

Dunlop, the last tyre manufacturer with a factory in Nigeria, is set to leave the country, favouring the importation of tyres from other nations such as South Africa. The decision is said to be inspired by the persistence of power cuts, unreliable gas supply, a rise in manufacturing costs and inconsistent governmental tariffs, which allowed imported tyres to gain the upper hand in the domestic market.

The company stated that it had reached an impasse with the Nigerian government, after failing to persuade it to alter the prohibitive tariff structure. The government said that local manufacturing could not meet the market demand, though Dunlop argued that the current tariffs, coupled with energy costs and unreliability, made the improvement of production capacity impossible.

Dunlop’s Ikeja-based factory manufactures car and truck tyres and accounts for 15 per cent of nationwide consumption, while 85 per cent of the country’s tyre demands are met by importers. The factory’s closure spells the end of a 45 year spell for the company in Nigeria and 1,000 jobs are to be cut from the firm’s Nigerian operation.