Dangote Calls On African Leaders To Shield Local Industries From Unfair Global Competition

… Warns Against Influx of Adulterated and Substandard Fuel Products into Africa

BY ABU-SATAR HAMED

LAGOS, NIGERIA – President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote, has urged African leaders to emulate the United States, Canada, and the European Union in protecting domestic industries from unfair external competition. According to Dangote, taking deliberate action in this regard is critical if the continent is to achieve genuine growth and sustainable development.

Dangote made this passionate appeal while speaking at the ongoing West African Refined Fuel Conference in Abuja.

He decried the growing trend of dumping cheap and often toxic petroleum products into Africa, describing it as a serious threat. “To make matters worse, we are now facing increasing dumping of cheap, often toxic, petroleum products – some of which are blended to substandard levels that would never be allowed in Europe or North America”, he said.

He also cited the growing influx of discounted, low-quality fuel originating from Russia – blended with Russian crude under price caps and dumped in African markets.

Revealing that the continent is handing over its economic potential to others and exporting jobs while importing poverty back into the continent, he said: “So, while we produce plenty of crude, we still import over 120 million tonnes of refined petroleum products each year, effectively exporting jobs and importing poverty into our continent.

“That’s a $90 billion market opportunity being captured by regions with surplus refining capacity. To put this in perspective: only about 15% of African countries have a GDP greater than $90 billion. We are effectively handing over an entire continent’s economic potential to others – year after year,” he said.

Dangote lamented that Africa is increasingly becoming a destination for cheap, often toxic petroleum products – many of which are blended to substandard levels that would not be permitted in Europe or North America.

He revealed that, due to the continent’s limited domestic refining capacity, Africa imports over 120 million tonnes of refined petroleum products annually, at a cost of approximately $90 billion.

Dangote further stated that despite producing around 7 million barrels of crude oil per day, Africa only refines about 40% of its 4.3 million barrels daily consumption of refined products domestically. In stark contrast, Europe and Asia refine over 95% of what they consume.