Edike: Over 25% of Nigeria’s Non-oil Exports Substandard

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said that more than 25 percent of Nigeria’s non-oil exports, mainly agro allied products are rejected overseas due to poor packaging and poor standards.

Assistant Comptroller General of Customs (ACG) in charge of Zone A, Charles Eporwei Edike who disclosed this at the just concluded sensitisation seminar organised by the Nigerian Shippers Council in collaboration with Tell Magazine in Lagos noted that this ugly development accounts for why Nigeria has not bridged the gap created by uncertainties in the global crude oil market.

The Zone A covers all the NCS formations in Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo and Osun States including all the seaports, airports, land borders and the industrial units.

The seminar with the theme “Exploring Opportunities in Nigeria’s Maritime Industry” was in line with NSC function of protecting importers and exporters interests in the country.

It was also aimed at enlightening port users on the rudiments of export trade and as well as to draw the attention of the government and its relevant agencies on the challenges faced by shippers in carrying out their trade.

According to him, many of the Nigerian exporters have not embraced the reality that there are internationally acceptable standards in terms of quality and packaging every export product must comply with before they are allowed to enter the borders of any nation. The ACG attributed the high level of rejection of Nigeria’s non-oil export goods abroad to the in ability of the exporters to carry out market research on the commodities they intend to export in terms of quality and packaging.

His words: “Many Nigerians rush into export business because they heard that some people are in such business and are making money. They do so without doing their research. More often than not, they do not have enough information about the commodity they intend to export in terms of standards and packaging.”

The Customs Chief, who represented the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Colonel Hammed Ibrahim Ali (retired) at the seminar noted that the difference between two products is proper packaging.

He explained that the absence of proper packaging has negatively affected the acceptability of many Nigerian export products in the international market where they compete with other similar products..

The ACG explained there was urgent need for the government to remove all trade barriers, which have also worked against the government’s moves towards boosting non-oil exports, espe- cially given the uncertainties in the global crude oil market.

According to the NCS, Zone A Coordinator, the main challenge facing the non- oil exporters in Nigeria was the lack of access to cheap funds to do their business.