President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has blamed high taxes and heavy regulatory burdens for making cement produced by his company more expensive in Nigeria than in foreign markets.
Dangote said the price difference was largely due to multiple levies and charges imposed on local production.
According to Vanguard, the billionaire industrialist said exporting the product allows his company to avoid several taxes that significantly raise production costs at home.
He said the cumulative effect of taxes, fees and regulatory requirements within Nigeria adds substantially to the final retail price of cement.
He said: “When you look at my invoice, the cement I export is cheaper than the one I’m selling domestically, because that’s how exports work. In export I’m saving a lot of money, I’m not paying 30% income tax, I’m not paying 2%, education, I’m not paying 1% health, I’m not paying 7.5% VAT, and I’m not paying 10% withholding tax.
“So when you reduce all these taxes, I can afford to go and compete with the international market, with the likes of Turkey, Russia, and China.”
The billionaire industrialist has consistently stressed local manufacturing as a means of achieving economic self-sufficiency.