The Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria (CIPPON) has urged the federal government to extend import duty relief to the printing industry to reduce the price of books published in the country.
President and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria CIPPON, Printer Koko T Clement, made the appeal in a press statement, saying lack of local production of critical materials needed in the industry has made importation the only option for the industry.
He explained that some African countries have extended duty concessions or waivers on printing inputs, leaving Nigerian printers competing at a structural disadvantage.
He added that sustained high input costs have pushed capacity utilisation in many printing establishments below viable operating thresholds, resulting in closures, job losses and a shift toward finished-product importation.
He said the continued trend posed a serious threat to over 50 million Nigerians that depend on the sector for jobs to feed their families.
‘The required raw materials and machinery are not yet produced in Nigeria at the volume or quality the industry needs, making import dependence structural rather than a matter of preference. Each quarter of delay compounds these losses and erodes formal-sector capacity that will be far costlier to rebuild than to preserve,’ he said.
He added that the benefits of activating the concession extend well beyond the printing industry itself to create lower-cost books, packaging and essential printed materials for the health, electoral and public sectors.