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Fake or Original, Nigeria

That Nigeria’s economy is ravaged by substandard and counterfeit goods is no longer news. What is perhaps disturbing is the continuous influx of these fake products into the markets in the face of seeming hapless regulatory agencies despite their efforts. Today, for almost all items in the market, you have original and fake products displayed side by side, mostly with impunity, and the consumers have to decide, depending on their choice and purse size. Unfortunately so, the prevalence of these counterfeit products is one of the biggest challenges facing marketing and brands development in the country as the counterfeit “industry” continues to stifle creativity and entrepreneurial development. The tragedy remains however that there is hardly any product in the Nigerian market that is not either faked or its quality sub-standard when compared with the original, especially for every fast selling genuine product- they are either pirated or reproduced almost similar to the original without regards for standards and specifications. Nigeria seems to have accepted to be a dumping ground for all kinds of goods from different parts of the world. From toothpaste to vehicle spare parts; computers and ICT products to building materials; cars to hand kerchiefs and towels; keys and padlocks to foods and drugs among others, and even expertise, and this is telling bad on the economy and the consumers.
http://businessdayonline.com/2015/07/between-fake-and-original-products-who-rescues-nigerian-consumers/#.Va31m6Sqqko

Kenya: The Man On a Mission to Shine Light On Fake Goods

From fake phones to illicit alcoholic drinks, the Kenyan market has been raided by unscrupulous traders who are turning counterfeiting into a multi-billion shillings business. For Mr Haron Kiriba to succeed in his business of importing special light bulbs that can stay on for about six hours after a power blackout, he knew that he had to surmount the potential influx of fakes. “The light bulb can tell the difference between lights off and lights out. And if after an outage you want to switch the lights off, you simply flick the socket and it detects that to mean lights off,” he said, adding that the bulb goes for Sh1,500. Mr Kiriba, who is the chief executive of OrigiCheck, said he had to first get it right in terms of assuring his customers of the legitimacy of the bulb before it hit the market.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201508111354.html

Global Anti-Counterfeit Packaging Market – Food and Pharmaceuticals

Secure packaging is one of the essential techniques to avoid counterfeiting. Anti counterfeit packaging is defined as the process of assigning secure packaging to the product in order to minimize counterfeiting or infringement. Anti-counterfeiting packaging is the process of secure packaging that prevents imitation and confirms safety of the goods. Anti-counterfeit measurements are taken by companies, which is helping them in minimizing loss due to counterfeiting in-term of revenue and loyalty. Global anti-counterfeit packaging market was accounted for $57.4 billion in 2013, which is forecast to generate revenue of $142.7 billion by 2020 at 13.9% CAGR from 2013-2020.

Kenya: The Man On a Mission to Shine Light On Fake Goods

From fake phones to illicit alcoholic drinks, the Kenyan market has been raided by unscrupulous traders who are turning counterfeiting into a multi-billion shillings business. For Mr Haron Kiriba to succeed in his business of importing special light bulbs that can stay on for about six hours after a power blackout, he knew that he had to surmount the potential influx of fakes. “The light bulb can tell the difference between lights off and lights out. And if after an outage you want to switch the lights off, you simply flick the socket and it detects that to mean lights off,” he said, adding that the bulb goes for Sh1,500. Mr Kiriba, who is the chief executive of OrigiCheck, said he had to first get it right in terms of assuring his customers of the legitimacy of the bulb before it hit the market.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201508111354.html

60,000 Smuggled Cigarettes Seized at Jaipur Airport

Two passengers were detained by the Customs Department here after 60,000 cigarettes worth over Rs 3 lakh were seized from them at the Jaipur International Airport, a senior official said today. The accused, identified as Mohammed Abid (36) and Samir Ansari (27), residents of Delhi who had alighted from Air Arabia flight from Sharjah were detained yesterday after six bags filled with Indonesian brand ‘Black’ cigarettes worth Rs 3.09 lakh was recovered from them, Joint Commissioner-Customs, Honhar Singh Meena, told PTI here. A penalty of Rs 20,000 each has been imposed on the duo for allegedly not paying the custom duty and the cigarettes bags were confiscated, Meena said, adding, they were later released after interrogation. According to the rule, a passenger is allowed to carry only 100 cigarettes after staying abroad for three days, but these passengers allegedly tried to smuggle all of the bags, he said.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/60000-Smuggled-Cigarettes-Seized-at-Jaipur-Airport/2015/08/09/article2965874.ece

Tobacco products seized

Huge quantities of tobacco products were seized from a vehicle heading towards Moreh from Imphal by personnel of 20 Assam Rifles under the aegis of IGAR (S) at Bongyang village yesterday. According to a reliable source, Huidrom Ingocha Singh (29) of Uyal, Thoubal district and Khongdombi (45) w/o Ghanasyam of Tentha, Thoubal were carrying the tobacco products in a Maruti Van. 6240 packets of Dilbagh Talab (pan masala), 3240 packets of Bengali spit tobacco, 100 tins of Baba chewing tobacco, 500 packets of Rajnigandha and 200 packets of Tulsi royal zarda were recovered from the duo. The items have been handed over to Food Safety Officer, Chandel, the source added.