Shipment of Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) from Nigeria has been suspended but this has kicked off fierce protests in eastern ports and accusations against FG agencies.

Officials of Maersk Nigeria Limited released a letter last week informing exporters that with immediate effect, the acceptance of PKS cargo exports from Nigeria has been temporarily suspended. The letter without name said this would be “Until further notice due to ongoing infestation concerns identified on vessels carrying PKS and similar agricultural commodities.”

This has attracted angry outbursts from important stakeholders who said it was FG regulatory agencies that must be failing because it was their job to stop such calamity.

The letter which was sighted by BusinessDay in Port Harcourt said this measure was being implemented to; “Mitigate potential operational, regulatory, and supply chain risks associated with the issue.”

By the action slammed on exporters, there would be ‘No new bookings for PKS exports from Nigeria will be accepted during the suspension period.

“The suspension applies to all PKS containers that have not yet been loaded onto a vessel, regardless of their current status within the export process.”

Also, “Cargo already loaded and in transit within our network will continue to move as planned, subject to enhanced monitoring and containment measures where required.”

Maersk said: “Our teams are actively assessing the situation and working closely with relevant stakeholders to minimize disruption to your supply chain.

“We recognize the impact this may have on your operations and appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this period.

“Further updates will be communicated as assessments progress, and a decision is reached regarding the resumption of PKS cargo acceptance. For any questions or assistance, please contact your local Sales or Customer Experience representative.”

The letter which gave contacts to those affected by the suspension, said victims who had additional challenges should please reach out to their local sales or customer service representative.

Exporters in clusters cried out for this. Their spokesman, Ofon Udofia, Executive Secretary of the Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM), spoke from the eastern ports, source of most of the PKS.

He said, “There are regulatory agencies that are supposed to supervise the exports but they seem to fail to do their jobs for whatever reasons. They thus allow the goods to proceed.

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“This is because, for you export kernel, you need SPS, a quarantine certificate. If we may ask, who issues this paper?”

He argued that the container ought to be fumigated by the Federal Ministry of Trade and be issued with exemption certificate. Udofia declared that they do not do their job.

He recalled in the recent past when there were certifications from various bodies. “These days, they give the jobs to politicians. Even the Federal Ministry of Environment has inspection to do and give certificate. They usually drag foot.

“For you to export, you must fill NXP form to guarantee that you will repatriate the fund, and when you did not export again, but they start hunting for you. That is a problem.

“It becomes a very big problem. Agencies do not do their work well. That is the major problem. But the exporter will have issues.

“For instance, for you to send such cargo, you need what we call SPS (phytosanitary) certificate. It is Quarantine department that issues it. The container is supposed to be fumigated by the Federal Ministry of Trade (Produce Department) and issue a fumigation certificate. Did they do their job? The answer is no.”

He recalled the past, saying there were credible agencies such as SGS, Bureau Veritas, ITS, Cotecna. “These were internationally testing companies that give you indemnity. But they now give it to politicians. Now, these companies will give you what they call ‘Clean Certificate of Inspection’, which is not actually clean.”

On the crisis at hand, Udofia said people that have already dropped their containers in the ports, in the terminal, “The terminal will be charging you for that space. Also consider that these exporters have also filled their NXP form, which shows that they were exporting. CBN will now start going after them.”

The expert said the bottom-line is that agencies did not do their work well. “That is the major problem; because if you say you are issuing me a clean certificate of inspection, it means if the certificate is actually clean as the name implies, no product should be rejected.

“Most of these Nigerian companies that are handling sensitive inspection tasks do not have labs. So, how do you send a clean report of inspection that this product is very good. It can go? Where did you test it?”