…Norwegian Seafood Council urges FG to intensify effort to make forex available
By Chinenye Anuforo
Despite the Federal Government (FG) removal of the foreign exchange restrictions on stockfish and other products, the price of the fish still remain very high.
Recall, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had in 2015 listed stockfish among 43 items not valid for Foreign Exchange Window but just recently the bank finally lifted the restrictions on those items.
But, according to the traders who spoke to journalists during the Norwegian Seafood Council visit to Oto stockfish dealers, Tuesday in Ebutemetta, Lagos, they are yet to feel the impact of the lifting the ban because of scarcity of dollars which has affected the price of goods.
Consequently, the Norwegian Seafood Council called on the federal government to intensify effort in making forex available in the country.
The group explained that businesses are suffering due to scarcity of dollars which resulted to the high cost of the products in the market.
Speaking to journalists, Consultant to the Norwegian Seafood Council in Nigeria, Abiodun Cheke appreciated the FG’s initiatives of delisting the item, together with the efforts of single forex market.
However, she said: “The second step is to make sure the demand sector of the forex which is very high is met. So, what we need now is a good supply sector, which should intensify more efforts to let us have more forex in the supply.”
For the Director Africa, Norwegian Seafood Council, Trond Kostveit he said: “We were working for a long time to remove stockfish from the list with the objective of getting access to dollars cheaper but that didn’t happen till now. Unfortunately, now there is not enough dollar in the economy, which means that the price has even increased. But we do hope that there will be injection of dollars into the economy that will bring down the price.”
Another Norwegian Seafood Council delegate, Mr. Robert Isaksen, who was impressed with the market, said: “I like the Nigerian markets because they are so different from where I am from. I have been working with this produce since I am 7 years old. Now, I have seen where it ends and where it’s getting eaten. “
On the high cost of stockfish, he said, “The high costs have a reason. One reason is that we are also in a recession, and the Norwegian exchange rate against dollars is very bad right now. This means that the fishermen are getting more paid, and the cost of the produce is getting higher.”
He was, however, hopeful that, when the recession is over and the regulatory changes are in place everything will turn out well for everybody.
In her opinion, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) , the Norwegian African Business Association, Solveig Tangen said the visit was important because their job is to create a community across sectors and to create partnerships on the continent.
She said: “Nigeria being an important country for Norway, and an obvious aquaculture and fish market, I think Norway is a big fish exporter, our job is to understand how to create more of partnerships across the whole industry. Not just exporting, but understanding, building those relationships over time.”