By Michael Onwuka
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has announced a remarkable improvement in the volume and value of Nigeria’s non-oil trade in the international market.
The Executive Director of NEPC, Mr Olusegun Awolowo disclosed this on Monday in Enugu during a sensitisation workshop on ‘Export Facilitation Measures, Practices and Standards’.
Awolowo, who was represented by the Director, Trade Information, Mrs Evelyn Obisike, described the development as fallout of the diversification reforms of the Federal Government aimed at promoting non-oil trade.
He also said that the reforms in the sector had led to the high demand of Nigerian products in the international market.
He said that participants at the workshop included exporters, regulatory agencies and critical stakeholders in non-oil export.
“We are educating them on the reforms the Federal Government has done over the years to ensure they close their knowledge gap and compete favourably with those from other countries.
“Nigeria has expanded aspects of its exports activities which has made our products competitive and the exporters are happy that they are becoming more efficient,” he said.
Awolowo said that the ease of doing business had reduced the cost of export business, leading to a significant increase in the number of non-oil exporters in the country.
Also, the South East Regional Coordinator, NEPC, Mr Arnold Jackson, described the workshop as one that would broaden the horizon of the exporters.
Jackson said that it was very important that the exporters were taken through the rudiments of trade facilitation which is the simplification of trade, standardisation and organisation.
In a lecture, the Secretary, National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC), Mr Abdullahi Usman, said that Nigeria had recorded 18 per cent increase in non-oil export in the past few years.
Usman, however, said that it was sad that in spite of such favourable number, Nigerian exporters seemed not to be doing enough to add value to their products.
He said that the exporters needed to do more in the production and packaging of their products in order to improve their standards.
According to him, in order to ensure that goods leaving Nigeria meet international standard, the costs of imported raw materials need to be favourable and sometimes duty free.
“The relevant agencies of government should see themselves as facilitators of trade and not driving for revenue at all times,” Usman said.
Also, a representative of Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Mr Ayokunnu Oneniyi, said that the council had reduced the time of doing business.
Ojeniyi also said that the council had reduced corruption leading to improved transparency in the sector.
“Our goal is to remove the bureaucratic bottlenecks in doing business in order to make Nigeria a progressive country to do business,” Ojeniyi said.
