80% of the containers on a ships leaving Nigeria are empty! The reason isn’t that there isn’t produce to be exported, but the principalities and powers are stronger than any witch or wizard the world has ever seen either factual or fiction! To them, SELF before Nation!
SON, NDLEA, NAFDAC, EFCC, DSS, NCS, Nigerian Police, NPA, NEPC, NIS…all these agencies and others in the league, demand to be part of the inspection of agricultural export, while an electronic scanner, does it only once! These are the outcomes, not just the economic loss alone.
Let me use Yam as an example; a 20ft container will take about 1,240 tubers of Yam packed in a carton containing 4 medium-sized tubers with each yam cleaned and wrapped individually in polypropylene bags.
Please, guess the waiting time before export at a Nigerian Port will take place. 🤷🏾♂
The minimum waiting time at the Port is a whopping 75 days!!!
As we all know, Yam and tubers generally don’t do well in humid conditions, even though it is properly packed. Now, imagine it being in a saline/humid environment before shipping. Conversely, in Ghana, it takes only 3 days for the processes to be completed for the ship to set sail. The unnecessary delays at the Nigerian port add to spoilage and unacceptability at the country of destination.
Accordingly, by the time Nigerian Yams get anywhere in the world, especially Europe and America, the exporter would have lost over 68% of the merchandise due to the greed, wickedness, irresponsibility and nonchalance of the lead agencies earlier highlighted above! As an escape route, Nigerians would first transport their Yams to Ghana and export from there.
This implies that 80% of 4,000 containers leaving Nigeria empty is an indictment on every one of us!
And, if you’re one of those who daily curse and berate the country while your family and friends work in the agencies I mentioned, feel sorry for yourself and your kit and kin for being part of the problem!
It is on record that we are the highest producer of Cassava in the world but can’t even get a leg into the door of the global market for the reasons adduced above while
Cassava from DRC is airlifted to Brussels. In Nigeria, the agencies concerned would frustrate you with their usual anti-business attitudes and greed!!!
A New Nigeria is imperative.
A seasoned freight forwarder Mr Ogbu concurs
You have said it all, it’s a very sad reality, even with the so called single window policy, nothing has changed in the Ports.
A practical example is planters and harvesters imported into Lagos ports and delayed for over 3 months.
No concrete reason given for this madness and no authority to report to, not to mention the atrocities of the Shipping and Terminal Operators who are not under any form of control.Any port outside Nigeria is better, safer and more cost effective, yet we are looking for foreign investors….we just dey play.
Mr Phillip…also a seasoned freight forwarder agees 100%
Mr Romeo another freight forwarder adds
There are other factors too, for instance the insane traffic along the Tincan-Apapa ports corridor that engenders so many days delays, sometimes weeks before those exports could gain access into the ports. These delays are caused by faulty systems and obsolete handling equipments of shipping companies and terminal operators. Despite being their fault, these companies and terminals continue to collect rent on their containers from the exporters or their proxies. Also another reason for the delays is the corruption in the system by NPA and other security or relevant agencies operating at the ports who create artificial bottlenecks in order to fleece clearing agents, transporters, importers and exporters. A lot of rot has been going on and government seems to be blind about it because the rot is being perpetrated by government officials
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