Follow Us on Google
Steve Agbota
The Federal Government’s efforts to diversify the nation’s economy through non oil export has continued to suffer setback as over 300 export containers are stranded at the Lagos ports.
Speaking with Daily Sun via telephone interview, the Vice President National Association Of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Abdullahi Inuwa, said that there are more than 300 export containers that are yet to be admitted into the terminals, which has huge economic implications.
According to him, but now the exporters who are mopping up the agric produce for export are losing billions of dollars because most of the produce are perishable, adding that even the revenue that supposed to be acrued to the government has been lost as the export containers could not gain access into the ports.
Speaking on why the contianers are not admitted into the port for export, he said it was as a result of insincerity from the shipping companies and other operators at the port.
He added: “Generally, there is insincerity. What I mean by insincerity of the shipping companies, if they know, they don’t have ships that will carry the produce for export or you don’t have any agreement that the terminal will accept it, there is no need to allow your containers to be used to carry the export produce.
“And the other operators who are part of the export process supposed to be given service of berth at the shipping line that they will be receiving export containers even if it is on daily basis that so so shipping line will be recieved for export. So that the exporters or the truckers will know, which one to carry.”
Inuwa also lamented that the poor processes and procedures of export documentation by agents at the nation’s ports was part of the problems facing export while shipping line and other operators contributed the largest problems as regards export in the country.
“In the hands of agents, before the truck will be admitted, they have to consult Customs for their export documents. So you have to make sure that any export that is coming to you, everything must be intact not until they see the truck approaching port, they would not start preparing Customs documents,” he said.
He explained that before the pandemic, export cargoes gain entry into the terminals without much stress despite the ongoing road construction but lamented that since the lockdown has been relaxed, the situation worsen.
