Aarti Steel Nigeria, a prominent player in the roofing sheet market, has announced the closure of its operations in the country due to severe economic pressures.
The company, based in Ota, Ogun State, has faced numerous challenges over the past year, leading to intermittent production and an inability to meet funding requirements.
Sources familiar with the matter cited significant indebtedness driven by foreign exchange losses, adverse economic policies, and competition from smuggled substandard goods.
These factors depressed local pricing mechanisms, forcing Aarti Steel to sell at prices below its production costs.
Mr. Lateef Bello confirmed that there is interest from two major Nigerian steel companies and several Indian steel firms in acquiring the plant. This potential sale could save thousands of direct and indirect jobs connected to Aarti Steel’s value chain.
The Chairman of the Galvanized Iron Steel Manufacturers Association (GISMA), a sub-sector of the Basic Metal, Iron & Steel and Fabricated Metals Products group under the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), expressed disappointment over the company’s economic predicament and the resulting proposed sale.
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