‘It is difficult to operate in Nigeria’ — P&G to stop local production

Procter & Gamble (P&G), an American multinational consumer goods company, says it has plans to transition from local production to solely importing its products as it winds down its on-ground presence in Nigeria.

Andre Schulten, chief financial officer, P&G, disclosed this on Tuesday, during his presentation at the Morgan Stanley global consumer & retail conference in New York.

P&G is the manufacturer of common Nigerian household items such as Pampers, Always, Oral B, Ariel, Ambi-pur, SafeGuard, Olay and Gillette.

Schulten said the decision is a result of the challenging business environment in Nigeria, as well as the difficulty in creating US dollar value.

“The other reality that arises in some of these markets is that it gets increasingly difficult to operate and create U.S dollar value,” he said.

“So when you think about places like Nigeria and Argentina, it is difficult for us to operate because of the macroeconomic environment.

“So with that in mind, we are announcing a restructuring program with the intent to adjust the operating model and adjust the portfolio to ensure that we maintain the portfolio discipline that has brought us to this point.

“The restructuring program will largely focus on Nigeria and Argentina. We’ve announced that we will turn Nigeria into an import-only market, effectively dissolving our footprint on the ground in Nigeria and reverting to an import-only model.”

The development is coming less than a month after Sanofi exited the country.

In November 2023, Sanofi-Aventis Nigeria Limited, a French pharmaceutical company, said it would adopt a third-party model for the distribution of its products in Nigeria.

The company said the “exciting transformation of its business model in Nigeria” would take effect in February 2024.

Similarly, in August, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Nigeria Plc announced plans to cease operations, transferring its business activities to a third-party organisation.