The Shippers Association of Lagos (SALS) has revealed that over 82 percent of exported agro-allied products from Nigeria are either seized or rejected in Europe for reasons that could have easily been tackled at the home front. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a statement signed by SALS President, Rev. Jonathan Nicole, it was noted that the major challenge was that they are illegally exported without certification of regulatory or supervisory agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c82 percent of export cargo is enormous. With this in view, it will grossly affect our farmers directly or indirectly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicole also called for a good trading environment, as shippers expect the Nigeria Customs Service amendment of CEMA to meet with the current realities in the World Trade Agreements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the lingering effects of agitations, lawlessness and other negative consequences experienced in 2021 had negatively affected the quest for a more conducive trade environment, the group stressed,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicole also noted that the restrictions on foreign exchange have been counterproductive as a lot of industries are grossly affected by the policy. According to him, import trade will suffer due to foreign exchange restrictions.He noted that importers could hardly pay freight charges as the approved window was $5,000 limit for 30 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFreight above $5,000 will be held up until freight charges have been fully prepaid upfront. Goods will attract storage charges abroad for as long as the freight is pending and this type of restriction and delays are detrimental to trade, especially when it involves agric products that must reach their destinations within a time frame. These bottlenecks can affect the state of some products during delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, it is encouraging that President Buhari promised to provide foreign exchange for industries and manufacturers in 2022 because of the importance of local production of essential materials and for exports,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that they were seeking peaceful co-existence in the maritime sectors, urging shipping lines and terminal operators to induce the development of the maritime systems instead of just increasing costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe expect a reduction of cost of doing business in Nigeria and encourage entrepreneurship through direct investments from proceeds from our imports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe security of our waterways must be guaranteed. Fishing vessels should be protected to enable Nigerians to supply fish into our various markets. This is local content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Gulf of Guinea has to be protected from invading pirates. Nigeria waters should be safe enough for ourselves as stakeholders in Nigeria,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicole urged freight forwarders to be closer to cargo owners who provide them with jobs rather than becoming spies to government agencies in the name of getting rich quickly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Shippers Association of Lagos (SALS) has revealed that over 82 percent of exported agro-allied<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":18909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1441,361],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-nation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n