By Francis Ajuonuma
The manufacturing sector experienced a staggering decline in growth, as its year-on-year (YoY) nominal GDP growth plummeted by 90.11 percent in the third quarter of 2024, according to the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The sector’s growth fell from 36.59 percent in Q3 2023 to a mere 3.62 percent in Q3 2024, reflecting significant challenges across its sub-sectors and highlighting the urgent need for remedial measures.
Despite recording a quarter-on-quarter growth of 31.67 percent in nominal terms, the sector’s contribution to nominal GDP dropped to 14.30 percent in Q3 2024, down from 16.18 percent in the same period the previous year.
The GDP report read, “Nominal GDP growth of the Manufacturing sector in the third quarter of 2024 was recorded at 3.62 percent (year-on-year), 32.97 percent points lower than the figure recorded in the corresponding period of 2023 (36.59 percent) and 1.72 percent points higher than the preceding quarter figure of 1.91 percent.
“Quarter-on-quarter, growth of the sector was recorded at 31.67 percent during the quarter. The contribution of Manufacturing to Nominal GDP in the third quarter of 2024 was 14.3 percent, lower than the figure recorded in the corresponding period of 2023 at 16.18 percent and higher than the second quarter of 2024 at 12.68 percent.”
Real GDP growth in the manufacturing sector was 0.92 percent, marginally higher than the 0.48 percent recorded in Q3 2023 but lower than the 1.27 percent achieved in Q2 2024.
The sector’s real contribution to GDP stood at 8.21 percent, a decline from 8.42 percent in Q3 2023 and 8.46 percent in Q2 2024.
The GDP report noted, “Real GDP growth in the manufacturing sector in the third quarter of 2024 was 0.92 percent (year-on-year), higher than the same quarter of 2023 and lower than the preceding quarter by 0.44 percent points and 0.35 percent points, respectively.
“The sector’s growth rate on a quarter-on-quarter basis stood at 6.74 percent. The Real contribution to GDP in the 2024 third quarter was 8.21 percent, lower than the 8.42 percent recorded in the third quarter of 2023 and lower than the 8.46 percent recorded in the second quarter of 2024.”
The manufacturing sector comprises thirteen activities: Oil Refining, cement, food, Beverages, and Tobacco, textile, Apparel, and Footwear, Wood and Wood Products, Pulp Paper and Paper Products, chemical and Pharmaceutical Products, Non-metallic Products, plastic and Rubber Products, Electrical and Electronic, Basic Metal and Iron and Steel, Motor Vehicles and Assembly, and Other Manufacturing.
The sharp decline in the sector’s GDP growth underlines the persistent structural and operational challenges facing manufacturers in Nigeria.
These include limited access to foreign exchange, high production costs exacerbated by erratic power supply, and import dependency on raw materials.
The impact of these constraints has led to reduced industrial capacity utilization, directly affecting job creation and export diversification efforts.
Subsectors like food, beverages, and tobacco—traditionally drivers of manufacturing growth—also showed limited momentum, further dampening overall sector performance.
*Two-thirds of households in Nigeria lack money for healthy food- Survey
Lack of funds has left two-thirds of households in Nigeria grappling with the reality of not being able to provide healthy and nutritional meals, a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS has revealed.
The NBS survey, titled “Nigeria General Household Survey – Panel (GHS-Panel) Wave 5 (2023/2024),” appears to reflect the country’s multidimensional poverty and the impact of continuous reduction in Nigerians’ purchasing power due to rising prices of goods and services.
In a significant twist, the survey also showed that households in the country experience 6.7 power blackouts every week.
The survey report on food insecurity stated, “Approximately two out of three households indicated being unable to eat healthy, nutritious or preferred foods because of lack of money in the last 30 days.
Similarly, 63.8 percent of households ate only a few kinds of food due to a lack of money, 62.4 percent were worried about not having enough food to eat, and 60.5 percent ate less than they thought they should.
“Between Waves 4 and 5, the proportion of households that reported being worried about not having enough food to eat because of lack of money increased significantly, from 36.9 percent to 62.4 percent.”
Regarding access to energy, the NBS survey revealed that “82.2 percent of urban households have electricity, compared to 40.4 percent in rural areas.
“Cooking typically involves traditional three-stone stoves (65.0 percent), primarily using wood as fuel (70.2 percent), but the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is rising significantly.
“Many households lack toilet facilities and rely on tube wells or boreholes for drinking water. Waste disposal is mostly informal, with 45.6 percent of households using bushes or streets.”
The survey revealed that “Overall asset ownership has declined since 2018/19.” However, two-thirds of households have mobile phones, and about 21.3 percent access the Internet.
“The survey shows that 70.4 percent of households own their homes, with rural ownership at 80.1 percent, compared to 49.1 percent in urban areas.”
