By Steve Agbota
Following the incessant increase in Customs exchange rate for clearance of imported items at the seaports and Airports, Nigerian importers have started dumping Nigerian seaports for Port of Tema, Ghana; Port of Lome, Togo and Port of Cotonou, Benin Republic.
The decision to dump Nigeria ln seaports was as a result of the incessant increase in exchange rate for cargo clearance by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Also, clearing agents said importation into the country has dropped by 35 per cent from 40 per cent, as business activities dropped drastically.
According to a frontline clearing agent, Olubayo Akinlosotu, between 60 to 80 containers are dropped daily for examination as against 200 to 250 dropped in 2023.
Recall that CBN, on June 24, 2023 adjusted the exchange rate from N422.30/$1 to N589/$1 and on July 6, 2023 it was adjusted to N770.88/$1, on November 14, 2023, it was adjusted to N783.174/$1, December 7, 2023, it was adjusted to N951.941/$1, on Friday, 2nd February, 2024, exchange at N1,356.883/$1 and on Saturday, 3rd, February, 2024 was changed to N1,413.62/$1 making it twice adjustment within a day
However, confirming the development to Daily Sun Akinlosotu, said importers are leaving the country in droves, saying since the cargoes will now be smuggled into the country through the nation’s porous borders.
He, stated that the abandonment of Nigerian ports was basically because of high foreign exchange rate.
“If these importers bring goods to neighbouring ports, we all know that 80 per cent of them will ended up in Nigerian market either through smuggling or any other means of shipping. The implication is that it is the Government that will lose at the end,” he said.
Speaking with Daily Sun, the National President of the National Council of Managing Director of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, tagged the recent happening ‘importers Japa’.
Amiwero argued that the floating exchange rate is responsible for the crisis the country is currently facing, adding that sourcing for forex is another big problem attributing it to ‘importers’ Japa’.
“The subsidy paid on by the govt. is what takes care of a common man, the head dressers, the transport system, the farmer and all the rest. So you remove subsidy, price of diesel go up and manufacturers are closing shops because they cannot run diesel and there is no constant power supply.
“For importers to move out of the country to go and look for solace is terribly disastrous and the implication is huge. That means we cannot fund our import and so many of our things. We are crashing down completely and people are moving out. Maybe as they are moving out, they are moving their companies out of the country,” he added.
He said a lot of people have been ravage into poverty, some of them cannot eat and they have gone down below lower level.
“You don’t have a floating exchange rate in a country that is fragile, there must be stability so that people can be consistently predict their importation and have a transparent view about what is coming.
“Many people are abandoning their thing at the port because when you trigger it immediately you have just little to bring in cargo and when you look at the exchange rate, it moves from 1.2 to 2.5, where do you get the extra? Government should look at it, the predictability in transaction is very important,” he explained.