Worried by the encumbrances facing export trade during this period of intra and inter-state movement restrictions to contain the spread of Coronavirus (COVD-19) in Nigeria, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), has called on government agencies in the nation’s seaports to facilitate the movement of export goods from hinterlands to ports.
Facilitating export trade, the Council, explains, would help the country to earn foreign exchange in the wake of dwindling crude oil revenue due to fall in demand as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Hassan Bello, executive secretary of the NSC at a recent meeting with Organised Private Sector (OPS) in Lagos, said government agencies including the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NSC and pre-inspection agents must come together to facilitate export cargo during this movement restriction period.
According to him, export cargo could be consolidated and escorted along supply chains to ensure ease of moving goods to the port.
He suggested that Kaduna Inland Dry Port and other Inland Container Depots (ICDs) located in six geo-political zones in the country could be designated as export consolidation centres.
“Export is going but not as expected. We have the problem of export going into the port terminals. We cannot joke with export because most of them are perishable goods. Nigerians are hardworking people and we cannot allow them to lose their investments just because of the bottleneck in moving their export cargo into the port,” he said.
He noted that within the export supply chain (from farm to port of origin) employment is being created, adding that Nigeria needs to look inward to salvage this country by ensuring access to market as well as the logistics chain.
“We need to fast track cargo movement into the port by using call-up system that works and this would also reduce the volume of traffic congestion around the port.
“We have always said that there is no time for diversification but now because necessity is the mother of invention. Maritime, including transport industry as a whole, is an alternative to oil but it has to be handled in a very efficient way. We cannot be joking with this industry in Nigeria anymore,” Bello said.
On the importance of automation of clearing process, he stated that Nigeria cannot continue to do things manually if it must fast track export trade.
“Our cargo clearing system is primitive because, if Customs continue to do 100 percent physical examination of containers, it would take longer time to examine a good number of the containers in the port.
“Customs has embraced technology for a long time going by the introduction of the Nigeria Customs Interacted System (NICIS) 11 and e-Customs,” he said.
He, however, noted the need for all government agencies in the port to come together to integrate all the existing platforms better than each operating separate platforms.
Bello, who noted that rail is the revolution, which the Federal Government is working to ensure that the connection of Port Harcourt to Enugu, and Jos-Kano-Lagos rail line becomes operational, said that transportation of goods from the hinterland would become a lot cheaper and more coordinated if rail transport becomes efficient.
He described the Lekki Deep Seaport, which is located within the Lagos Free Trade Zone as a game changer that has a draft to accommodate larger vessels, which can be allowed for the use of smaller vessels to transship cargoes to other ports such as Easter ports.
Responding, Margret Orakwusi, representative of the the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) at the meeting, pointed out the need to encourage businesses to grow better than driving revenue generation.
She stated that most exports in Nigeria are agricultural produce with short life span.
She solicited the help of the Council in ensuring efficiency in facilitating export at the port to avoid exporters losing their goods after the goods must have perished due to delays at the port.
Muda Yusuf, director general of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said Nigeria cannot look up to the oil sector for foreign exchange or revenue generation within the rest of this year, judging by the slump in oil prices in the international market due to decline in demand.
He, however, stated that the country would likely rely on non-oil sector to salvage the economy post COVID-19, adding that people in the private sector have to deal with the bottlenecks in the port processes and procedures.
