Manufactured goods valued at N577.61bn were unsold last year as the COVID-19 hit patronage, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria said on Tuesday. MAN, in its bi-annual review of the economy, said the inventory of unsold finished manufactured goods increased to N303.22bn in the second half of 2020 from N202.16bn in the same period of 2019 and N275.39bn in the first half of 2020. “Inventory of unsold manufactured goods in the sector totaled N577.61bn in 2020 as against N402.42bn recorded in 2019,” it said. The association said the increase in inventory in the period was attributed to the general low consumption and renewed imports in the economy as global economies generally opened after months of lockdown. It said, “Electrical and electronic sectoral group accounted for over 33 per cent of the total inventory of unsold manufactured products in period. “The group are having the challenges of low patronage, high smuggling and products counterfeiting which rubbed off negatively on inventory.” MAN said a total of 3,903 jobs were lost in the manufacturing sector in the second half of last year, noting that the pandemic had a crushing impact on the sector

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