Nigeria’s exports have increased by more than 25 percent in the last two years on the back of government reforms, Abubakar Dantsoho, managing director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) told the World Ports Conference in London.
He said that the growth was not limited to oil and gas exports, which has benefited from increased oil prices due to geopolitical conflicts, “but then also in the other areas of manufacturing and agriculture,” he said.
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The NPA chief attributed the increase to partnerships with major terminal operators, particularly APM Terminals, Nigeria’s largest container terminals, and said the authority had put measures in place to sustain the growth.
Among these is the establishment of four export processing terminals across the country, where the NPA collaborates with terminal operators, the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant agencies to facilitate export cargo processing before shipment.
Dantsoho said the arrangement allows exporters to complete the necessary procedures locally and address issues relating to product standards before their goods leave the country.
He said Nigeria was also better positioned to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), citing reforms by the current administration and growing trade cooperation with other African countries.
He identified Morocco as an important partner, noting that both countries were exchanging ideas on manufacturing and intra-African trade, particularly as Morocco develops its electric and conventional vehicle manufacturing industries.
According to him, Nigeria’s ports are now performing better than those of several West African countries, a position he said was supported by performance data available to members of the Association of Ports in West and Central Africa, which he chairs.
“There has also been improvement in Tanzania and Kenya. So it’s a very good feeling that this collaboration is getting us the desired results and we have to consolidate and also make sure that we progress on time so that we don’t allow the detraction to begin to slow us down.”
To sustain the improvements, the federal government is planning a $1 billion investment to expand and modernise Apapa Port, Dantsoho said. In March, the United Kingdom agreed to finance a £746 million upgrade of Nigeria’s Apapa and Tincan Island ports through a Citibank loan backed by UK Export Finance.
The authority is also pursuing technology partnerships to improve port operations, including a collaboration with a Singaporean firm to develop a single-window system and another with a company from Abu Dhabi to establish a long-expected port community system.
Bethel Olujobi is the Trade Correspondent at BusinessDay. He brings scarce insight into Nigeria's maritime policies and the changing currents of global commerce defining the country's position in international trade. Before this, he reported on foreign relations, migration and sports for BusinessDay. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication, and is an alumni of the CNN Academy and the Financial Times News School. He is certified by Reuters and Google. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria. For pitches, email: [email protected]
