… Says Forex, Unstable Policies make Nigerian Ports unattractive!***
The Congregation of Registered Freight Forwarding Practitioners of Nigeria (CREFFPON) has warned that the Nigerian ports stand to lose out in 2022, except there’s urgent adoption of strategies to tackle the challenges of high tariffs and attract new investors in the African Continental Free Trade Area regime.
The CREFFPON highlighted this, bemoaning the unstable foreign exchange which characterized the ports in 2021 while pointing out that the nation’s ports in 2021 actually experienced an investments glut and cargo was diverted to West African ports due to high tariffs and the Government’s unstable foreign exchange policies.
Stressing that the issue of high tariffs must be timely addressed, the group in its forecast for the year 2022, therefore, cautioned barge operators to streamline their tariffs for efficiency and advised the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria to revise the policy which denied importers access to foreign exchange.
The group equally maintained that the essence of an economic regulator in the industry was gradually losing steam.
“We hope that the new agenda (of the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council) will revamp the industry by instituting an industry pricing system that promotes competitiveness and meets the International best practices,” CREFFPON stated, noting that the cost of doing business in Nigerian ports was still too expensive and does not add up towards a healthy economy.
It cautioned that ports within the region were targeting Nigerian bound cargo and have positioned themselves to transshipment hub and were ready for prompt participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area regime.
It further pointed out that the increase in cargo throughputs of Lome, Cotonou, Cameroon, Ghana ports attests to the fact that Nigerian bound imports are being diverted.
CREFFPON decried the directive of the Finance Ministry /Central Bank of Nigeria on Trade Fiscal Policies.
Rather, it said the trade policy of uploading more than 41 import items and denying importers access to Forex on the basis that they should source for their foreign exchange from the parallel markets is inimical to business growth.
The group criticized the CBN Forex administration for not impacting both the nation and the trading public positively, saying that the policy promotes all manners of trade irregularities and noncompliance on the part of the trading public, especially in its quest to break even in trade transactions, in relation to profitization.
It added that the policy and the poor administration of the forex regime (persistent forex fluctuations) is a contributory factor in the ailing economic hardship in the country, as the nation is still import-dependent.
CREFFPON called on the CBN and the supervisory ministry to reevaluate the impact of this fiscal policy with a view to reviewing it.
While commending barge operators for their interventionist services undertaken to remedy the port congestion, it cautioned on the need for a streamlined tariff system and efficiency.
For the port industry to progress in the new year, CREFFPON charged the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to redouble its commitment to tackling vehicular traffic in and around Apapa ports by refining the e-truck call-up system as many streets of surrounding towns around the ports have been taking over by trucks.
“NPA should be concerned about its port rating globally, especially in relation to port friendliness, costs and efficiency,” it also stated.
While commending the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on combating piracy, CREFFPON said “the doggedness of the agency (NIMASA) to combat piracy activities on Nigerian territorial waters had ensured reduction in the sea crime.
It demanded that the Blue Economy project should be communicated further to the stakeholders, especially, in the area of research and human capacity development, as enshrined in the AIM-Strategy content development.”
The group described the declaration of excess revenue and profits amidst low cargo throughputs by the Nigeria Customs Service, shipping companies, terminal operators, and others as depressing, saying it truly “equally speaks volumes that something is wrong somewhere in their mode of operations.”
On the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Governing Council Election, CREFFPON urged the Ministry of Transportation to take a firm stand and conclude the electioneering process.
“The freight forwarders cannot continually afford to stay divided by mere trivial issues.
Time to think more of our profession other than our individual interests is now.
“The haulage sector of the freight forwarding profession requires an intervention.
The present trucking system needs better reorganization, and the CREFFPON shall be at the forefront to drive this objective in the year.
The importance of a transport logistics services cannot be overstated, as it touches the lives of Nigerians significantly”, it explained further.
