Government’s unassertiveness sees Customs frustrating tomato policy

Many government agencies appear to have a mind of their own under the present administration. This lack of coordination is very evident in the Nigeria Customs Service which, for instance, appears to continually frustrate efforts to make agricultural machinery increasingly available in the country.

Agricultural equipment are supposed to attract zero tariff, implying they can be imported without payment of customs duties, but this is yet to become a reality, particularly for greenhouse equipment.

Under the price-based measures for tomato policy, which took effect in May 2017, greenhouse equipment is classified as agricultural equipment and should attract zero percent import duty. Nine months later, however, the policy has remained comatose.

“The Greenhouse concession has not been respected by the Nigerian Customs Service,” says Emmanuel Ijewere, chairman Best Foods Limited. “They (Customs Service) still insist on a letter from the Federal Minister of Agriculture every time you bring in a shipment. Such letters take upwards of three months; meanwhile, the green houses are accumulating demurrage that is usually far higher than the duty waived. Apparently, this defeats the intention of bringing down the price of a greenhouse. Actually, it is now worse of.”

Consequently, importers of greenhouses are most times constrained on the number of greenhouse to import every season due to the heavy charges involved. As such, the quantum of production which ought to have been achieved takes a hit.

The policy on greenhouse equipment was part of measures to stimulate increase in tomato production, as a way of making it possible for local producers to grow more and bridge the deficit.

Tomato demand in Nigeria is put at 2.2 million metric tonnes per annum, while annual actual production is 1.5 million metric tonnes, but 700,000 metric tonnes is lost to post-harvest wastage, leaving only 800,000 metric tonnes supplied to the market, data obtained from the agric ministry shows.

Impliedly, Nigeria needs to produce more tomatoes to achieve sufficiency, but as long as the Customs Service makes it impossible for relevant equipment to be brought in on the basis of government’s tariff-free provisions, the sector will remain challenged.

The writer can be reached via caleb.ojewale@ businessdayonline.com or +2348026689139

CALEB OJEWALE