NewStats: 3,261,086 , 8,173,008 topics. Date: Wednesday, 28 May 2025 at 07:57 AM 382f39

Nigerians shift to made-in-Nigeria products as imported items become too expensive.

Nigerians are increasingly embracing locally-made products as the soaring cost of foreign goods, driven by currency depreciation and import pressures, forces a rethink of household spending.

What was once a matter of preference is now a matter of necessity, and consumers are adapting fast.

This trend came into sharp focus on a recent episode of Drinks and Mics, a Nairametrics podcast hosted by Ugodre Obi-Chukwu and co-hosted by Arnold Dublin-Green and Tunji Andrews.

Watch the episode:

The episode featured Oler Oladele, founder of the MoneyWit Club, who shared how Nigerians — particularly families — are adjusting to the realities of a tighter economy.

“When we talk about macroeconomic numbers, it’s easy to get lost in all the data and forget the real people behind the numbers,” Oler said during the show. “But the real impact, the significant impact, is on Nigerians themselves. Beyond forex depreciation or GDP, we have to ask: how are people actually living?”

The answer, it seems, lies in the supermarket aisle and around the family dining table. According to Oler, Nigerian consumer behavior is undergoing a quiet but dramatic transformation.

“Think about it: how many people are still casually shipping things from America like they used to? Or taking shopping trips to Dubai? Those days are gone — or at least drastically reduced,” she noted.

This change is not anecdotal. Recent reports show a drop in import volume, which some analysts link to Nigeria’s recent balance of payments surplus.

“I reading that the surplus was driven not by rising exports, but by reduced imports. It shows how much our consumption patterns are shifting,” Oler added.

Reforms and rising inflation

The shift comes in the aftermath of bold economic reforms rolled out by the istration of President Bola Tinubu, which began shortly after he took office in May 2023. These included the removal of fuel subsidies, the unification of Nigeria’s multiple exchange rates, and the partial withdrawal of electricity subsidies.

• While these reforms earned praise for improving policy credibility and unlocking market efficiency, they have also contributed to a sharp rise in the cost of living. Inflation has soared to a two-decade high, touching 34.8% in early 2025, with food and energy costs being primary drivers.

Fuel prices remain a particular concern. Oler noted that while devaluation often triggers trader exits and price hikes, the bigger pain point for households tends to be petrol. “If oil prices drop but the naira also weakens, that’s when things get tricky,” she warned.

Still, the agreed that inflation may not bite as harshly as before, at least in certain categories, thanks to consumer adaptation. “Imported inflation isn’t hitting as hard anymore because people simply aren’t buying the imported version,” said co-host Tunji Andrews.

He shared a personal anecdote to illustrate: “I was at the supermarket buying cereal for my kids. I picked a nicely packaged brand, and someone pointed out, ‘That’s the imported one.’ I didn’t even know we had a Nigerian version. That’s how much substitution is happening.”

The economics of humility

What emerges from this shift is a broader story — one of economic resilience, but also humility.

“A lot of people can no longer afford to buy new cars. But it’s not just the big stuff,” Oler explained. “Even buying kitchen towels has changed. I sat with some mothers recently, and they told me how their nannies now influence which brands they buy because of price. The economy has humbled a lot of people.”

She went on to emphasize how this shift is not just about brand switching — it’s about a complete reprioritization of household needs. “The elite may not feel it as sharply unless they stop eating out and start shopping like everyone else. But if you’re buying things for a family every week, you’ll see how much has changed.”

• Ugodre Obi-Chukwu raised a critical question during the podcast: Is the weakening exchange rate still the major threat to everyday Nigerians it once was?

“I’d say not really,” Oler replied. “Not in the same way. Because consumer patterns have adjusted, people are navigating around it.”

And this may be the real story of Nigeria’s economic transformation — not just in policy , but in the lived experiences of its people. As imported goods become more expensive and foreign exchange pressures persist, Nigerians are responding not with despair, but with adaptation.

“Exactly. It’s not theoretical anymore,” Oler concluded. “People feel it every day. And that’s the real story behind all these reforms and market movements — a total reshaping of how Nigerians consume, survive, and adapt.”

Source: https://nairametrics.com/2025/04/14/nigerians-shift-to-made-in-nigeria-products-as-imported-items-become-too-expensive/

Na different ways to receive the missing senses

The Okrika, we have tailors that sew native, they can also sew the casual wears

Adidas, Nike, we have coblars, they can do better than that if government intervene

Buying second hand bra, pant, boxers. Hahaha we have been stooping for long

None of them is cheap

My my is very good toothpaste I discovered by accident. i go for the green one and nothing else

Ronu miscreants would call this an achievement.

Made in Nigeria goods like innoson or nord cars?

Tho it's a good idea. Will reduce pressure on forex. But let the Naija made products be of good quality.

Do we have any made in Nigeria products?

Aba Made should be properly branded, labelled and promoted.

R

It's not easy.

Guys pls I need a standing fan

Budget is 10k


Lagos

sameoldguy:
Do we have any made in Nigeria products?

our politicians are made in Nigeria

Exactly the Govt plans. This is good news as it will provide employment for our teeming population

Going beyond the misleading headline and actually reading this article, it becomes obvious that this piece of poor PR is about how current FG's policies are "a total reshaping of how Nigerians CONSUME, SURVIVE, and ADAPT." It is unfortunate because that's recipe for hardship and not prosperity.

On the contrary, government polies should be deliberate effort to reshape how Nigerians PRODUCE, INNOVATE, CONSUME and PROSPER. Sadly, two years after inauguration, there is still no economic road map on the table. No programes and incentive package to encourage local production. Ministers of Trade and Investment, Agriculture, Blue Economy etc. seem to be sleeping.

God help Nigeria. We have a long way to go with this government.

Effect of Trump's trade war. The industries will return from China, small and medium enterprises will bloom and blossom

Globalization is dead

Which Nigerians are shifting? To which made in Nigerian goods? Which made in Nigerian goods are cheaper? The last item I bought recently was an original okrika Nike sneakers, though it was second hand, it was of a better qualitative build and cheaper than the ABA made I saw in the same shop.

AmazingGenius:
[b]Nigerians shift to made-in-Nigeria products as imported items become too expensive.


Source: https://nairametrics.com/2025/04/14/nigerians-shift-to-made-in-nigeria-products-as-imported-items-become-too-expensive/

Surely this should be good for Nigeria

Great.

Buying locally produced goods will encourage more people to set up businesses producing more local versions as imports become too expensive
for most people. This will lead to more job creation.

That is moving the economy 'from consumption to production'. Mr Obi's mantra during the last election. Mr Tinubu's government is delivering exactly that.

But people don't want to give the government credit for changing the economy in the right direction.

Most people just want cheaper forex so that imports become more affordable for them, even if it means the government is borrowing more and more dollars, and piling on multi generational debt for the country.

Why on earth should we, for example, be importing cornflakes when there are companies producing it here.

I have asked on this platform several times for people to mention any government since Nigeria got independence 65 years ago that has done more positive economic reform in less that 2 years than the current government. No one has been able to mention such government.

Hands down, this is the most reformist government we have had. Yet people want another President in 2 years to unravel everything and take the country back to ineptitude.

Unbelievable.

After i saw the videos of Nigerian shoemakers on TIKTOK challenge. I order for 3 pairs of shoes 490k in total. I hope they will deliver.

AmazingGenius:
Nigerians shift to made-in-Nigeria products as imported items become too expensive.



Nigerians are increasingly embracing locally-made products as the soaring cost of foreign goods, driven by currency depreciation and import pressures, forces a rethink of household spending.

What was once a matter of preference is now a matter of necessity, and consumers are adapting fast.

This trend came into sharp focus on a recent episode of Drinks and Mics, a Nairametrics podcast hosted by Ugodre Obi-Chukwu and co-hosted by Arnold Dublin-Green and Tunji Andrews.

Watch the episode:

The episode featured Oler Oladele, founder of the MoneyWit Club, who shared how Nigerians — particularly families — are adjusting to the realities of a tighter economy.

“When we talk about macroeconomic numbers, it’s easy to get lost in all the data and forget the real people behind the numbers,” Oler said during the show. “But the real impact, the significant impact, is on Nigerians themselves. Beyond forex depreciation or GDP, we have to ask: how are people actually living?”

The answer, it seems, lies in the supermarket aisle and around the family dining table. According to Oler, Nigerian consumer behavior is undergoing a quiet but dramatic transformation.

“Think about it: how many people are still casually shipping things from America like they used to? Or taking shopping trips to Dubai? Those days are gone — or at least drastically reduced,” she noted.

This change is not anecdotal. Recent reports show a drop in import volume, which some analysts link to Nigeria’s recent balance of payments surplus.

“I reading that the surplus was driven not by rising exports, but by reduced imports. It shows how much our consumption patterns are shifting,” Oler added.


Reforms and rising inflation

The shift comes in the aftermath of bold economic reforms rolled out by the istration of President Bola Tinubu, which began shortly after he took office in May 2023. These included the removal of fuel subsidies, the unification of Nigeria’s multiple exchange rates, and the partial withdrawal of electricity subsidies.

• While these reforms earned praise for improving policy credibility and unlocking market efficiency, they have also contributed to a sharp rise in the cost of living. Inflation has soared to a two-decade high, touching 34.8% in early 2025, with food and energy costs being primary drivers.

Fuel prices remain a particular concern. Oler noted that while devaluation often triggers trader exits and price hikes, the bigger pain point for households tends to be petrol. “If oil prices drop but the naira also weakens, that’s when things get tricky,” she warned.

Still, the agreed that inflation may not bite as harshly as before, at least in certain categories, thanks to consumer adaptation. “Imported inflation isn’t hitting as hard anymore because people simply aren’t buying the imported version,” said co-host Tunji Andrews.

He shared a personal anecdote to illustrate: “I was at the supermarket buying cereal for my kids. I picked a nicely packaged brand, and someone pointed out, ‘That’s the imported one.’ I didn’t even know we had a Nigerian version. That’s how much substitution is happening.”

The economics of humility

What emerges from this shift is a broader story — one of economic resilience, but also humility.

“A lot of people can no longer afford to buy new cars. But it’s not just the big stuff,” Oler explained. “Even buying kitchen towels has changed. I sat with some mothers recently, and they told me how their nannies now influence which brands they buy because of price. The economy has humbled a lot of people.”

She went on to emphasize how this shift is not just about brand switching — it’s about a complete reprioritization of household needs. “The elite may not feel it as sharply unless they stop eating out and start shopping like everyone else. But if you’re buying things for a family every week, you’ll see how much has changed.”


• Ugodre Obi-Chukwu raised a critical question during the podcast: Is the weakening exchange rate still the major threat to everyday Nigerians it once was?

“I’d say not really,” Oler replied. “Not in the same way. Because consumer patterns have adjusted, people are navigating around it.”

And this may be the real story of Nigeria’s economic transformation — not just in policy , but in the lived experiences of its people. As imported goods become more expensive and foreign exchange pressures persist, Nigerians are responding not with despair, but with adaptation.

“Exactly. It’s not theoretical anymore,” Oler concluded. “People feel it every day. And that’s the real story behind all these reforms and market movements — a total reshaping of how Nigerians consume, survive, and adapt.”
Source: https://nairametrics.com/2025/04/14/nigerians-shift-to-made-in-nigeria-products-as-imported-items-become-too-expensive/

Ok

Aside Farm Produce what else do we produce? Abeg People stopped buying those things and manage the ones they had.

The funny thing is that our wicked merchants still sell the so called made in Nigeria goods at international rate.

Eg Dangote

Pepper seller

Bitter Kola from Ogun Stated is now more expensive than chewing gum

This is thread for poor people

bigiyaro:
Which Nigerians are shifting? To which made in Nigerian goods? Which made in Nigerian goods are cheaper? The last item I bought recently was an original okrika Nike sneakers, though it was second hand, it was of a better qualitative build and cheaper than the ABA made I saw in the same shop.

Some Nigerians are evil

Things available here, you see illiterates claim dollars and sell at exorbitant price

Great Tinubulation

We tried to warn you guys but y'all said city-boy was your saviour

Nonsense
Most baby economics will think that importation is not good for an economy but in reality the volume of international trade and exchange between nationals boosts the economy.
If every other countries stick only to their local produce who will buy Nigerias crude

Na condoms be my headache. If dem do made in Nigeria especially in Aba, wahala go dey o. Na so so bust the condoms go dey bust or draw comot from pricks

helinues:
Na different ways to receive the missing senses

The Okrika, we have tailors that sew native, they can also see the casual wears

Adidas, Nike, we have coblars, they can do better than that if government intervene

Buying second hand bra, pant, boxers. Hahaha we have been stooping for long

did you wear second hand boxer 😁😂