Why water consumers must avoid cheap products — ATWAP President

by SODIQ OYELEKE 

National President, Association of Table Water Producers of Nigeria, Mr. Ina Ubi
  

The National President, Association of Table Water Producers of Nigeria, Mr. Ina Ubi, speaks on challenges of table water production in this interview with SODIQ OYELEKE

Why was ATWAP founded?

ATWAP is the umbrella body coordinating all water packaging companies in Nigeria. It was registered in 1998 by the Corporate Affairs Commission to coordinate all table water companies in Nigeria and relate with government agencies and international bodies.

What is ATWAP’s membership strength?

ATWAP is made up of over 10,000 members. Today, we have about 18,750 water packaging companies duly registered by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. Also, ATWAP is fully on ground in all the 36 states of the federation and all water producing companies know about ATWAP. That is how solid ATWAP is to date.

What are the measures put in place by the body to regulate the cost of water production in the country?

We discussed in the National Delegates Conference in Abuja that the cost of water production should be regulated. We discovered that if you are using the right materials to produce what is required by NAFDAC you would hardly break even with a sale less than N100 per bag of sachet water. So it was agreed at that conference that a bag of water with 20 sachets should go for N100 and a retailer will sell for N200 because it is assumed that a sachet will go for N10.

But because many want to cut corners, and are trying to take over the market from the genuine ones, they try by all means to reduce the market. This is where our worry lies because when you sell a bag of water for N60-N70, it has a lot of implications. This means they might not be using the right materials for the production of the water and this is our worry. We have been insisting that sachet water production companies should try as much as possible to use low density food grade materials in packaging their water.

How does the existence of NAFDAC affect your regulatory role?

NAFDAC for now is the only legally constituted agency to grant approvals to water production companies. It assesses water factories and ensures that the requirements are met.

We are just an association whose main goal is to sanitise the industry and keep it up to date as is globally expected. NAFDAC as an agency has its own set standards, part of which is that an water factory must have a minimum of four rooms. One will serve as the production hall, the other is the cloak room; the third is the finished products room; while the fourth is the raw materials room. Some of those rooms are expected to be fitted with Ultra Violet Light which meets production standard. The workers have to be properly kitted. Once you meet with these requirements and NAFDAC certifies you and gives you a licence you are free to come and join the association.

When you meet the stipulated standards, you will be given a licence by NAFDAC. Once that is done, it is assumed that you have met the requirements for water production. You will therefore be required to come over to ATWAP to get your certificate.

What are the challenges faced by the industry?

The industry is an open one which everybody wants to go into. So, on a daily basis, we have new entrants who do not even know that an organisation like ATWAP is in existence. All they are trying to do is to get to the market and whatever comes their way, they offer as a price. That is one of the major challenges we have. Business practice is different from theory.

I can say that one of the major challenges we have is fake producers. There are so many of them out there. People have developed the habit of just copying numbers and pasting on their products without necessarily being ATWAP or NAFDAC numbers.

What is ATWAP doing to curb this?

We have been trying as much as possible to fish out the fake ones. We advise members of the public to report them to NAFDAC for sanctions. We also hold seminars to educate people we know are serious in the business or that have not come out to be actually identified so that they can meet up with the standards in the industry.

We have also built our relationship with NAFDAC, Standards Organisation of Nigeria and Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigeria Environmental Standards Agency. We work hand in hand with these agencies from time to time to see that the appropriate products are placed in the market for Nigerians to consume.

What should be done to encourage people to invest in the business?

Sachet water business is quite expensive, considering the fact that it is a small-scale business. We have been advocating that those in the industry should be encouraged to obtain moderate facilities. The Ecological Fund is there. Members of the association should be given the opportunity to access that fund so as to enable them to set up recycling plants alongside their water companies to avoid the worry and concern of littering the environment. Government can also encourage the industry by giving subventions to packaged water producers.

How can these recycling plants be set up?

It is sad that there is no mechanised dump site in the country. If the government can make a deliberate effort to set up mechanised dump sites, they will be of great help. In these sites, these wastes are sorted out from solid to soft and from there recycling can be done.

Are there other facing the industry?

Power supply is the major challenge. Our members also face multiple taxes as different ministries demand different levies. Also, the process of registering with NAFDAC, local governments is there. These are all multiple taxes that we are all talking about. We are now appealing that there should be a way of streamlining these things.

Insecurity is another challenge. The business environment in the North is not encouraging. Sellers will produce in the morning and around 4p.m they will have to rush home because of insecurity.

How does the recent certification by NAFDAC improve the industry?

Talking about the certification by NAFDAC, it will help the agency to keep its database right. It will give people the opportunity to come out and re-register their products.

What are your plans to empower your members?

In a way to help our members, we have registered the ATWAP Multipurpose Cooperative Society. If you don’t have any money to buy materials or equipment, you are free to call on the cooperative society to assist you.

Some of the benefits you will have as a member is that there will be networking opportunities to expand your business. Members will have access to experienced and trusted water producers to accelerate their business.

What should the consumers know about sachet water consumption?

The consumers should watch out for what they take. They should not consume water from leaking sachets or water packaged with low density material. Water should have a batch number and date of production. Don’t pick water by the roadside simply because it is cheap.

How will the consumers identify standard water products?

We have concluded plans to get members to print their ATWAP numbers alongside their NAFDAC numbers on their water sachets or bottles.

SOURCE: THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER - http://www.punchng.com/business/why-water-consumers-must-avoid-cheap-products-atwap-president/

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Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE

Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner