Cotonou, Lagos Port competitor hit by low patronage, says US auto exporter

Cotonou seaport in Republic of Benin, a strong contender of ports in Lagos especially in the area of handling Roll in Roll out vehicular market, has suffered a significant decline in patronage, as volume of imported vehicles witnessed a sharp drop in recent time.

Until recently, over 60 percent of Nigeria’s imported second hand vehicles, now comes from Cotonou port through the ‘notorious’ Seme land border to Nigerian markets since the Federal Government started the implementation of the new automotive policy that raised the duty paid on imported vehicles from 20 percent to 70 percent.

According to Pete Bottino, president of Auto Export Shipping (AES), a non-vessel operating common carrier that handles shippers’ vehicle export including automobiles, trucks, and mobile industrial equipment from United States of American ports to various West Africa ports, Cotonou port, which was previously booming with volume in the West African region, was hit by low business.

Bottino, who said this during a courtesy visit to SIFAX Group facilities in Lagos, described the situation as a big opportunity for Nigeria to explore and grow its tumbling earnings. To take advantage of this, Bottino urged the Federal Government to urgently address the challenge of foreign exchange that has negatively affected businesses in the country.

“As a highly-rated carrier in the United States, we used to export two large vessels to the Cotonou ports on a weekly basis, but I must tell you that this market has crashed now and we only manage to export a small fraction there now. At present, our company would prefer to ship cargoes to Nigerian ports rather than Cotonou ports. This is an opportunity that Nigeria and its government must key into, if they want to grow their earnings,” Bottino explained.

Bottino, believed that shortfall in the supply of foreign exchange to Nigerian shippers, is responsible for low business in the country. He added that the ability of the Federal Government to sort the issues out would encourage more customers to bring in more cars, especially trucks and machinery equipment.

“Because of the foreign exchange problems, Nigerians in Diaspora don’t buy cars and send to Nigeria anymore, they send them to other countries, where the cars can come in through the land borders. This is why Nigeria has to get the foreign exchange problems fixed,” he said.

The AES boss also commended SIFAX Group for the genuine commitment displayed so far in building a solid business relationship with his company as shown in its business acumen, problem-solving skill and excellent customer service shown in the vehicle importation service.

“For the first time in our business relations in Nigeria, my team and I in the United States can feel and sense that people are trying their best to grow the RoRo industry in Nigeria and we feel highly confident with these gestures. SIFAX is becoming a dominant force in the Nigerian shipping industry and its vision is in tandem with that of AES. With a company like SIFAX, we have no choice than to do business with them and I can assure all Nigerian importers that the AES/SIFAX Group partnership is here to stay,” the AES boss added.

Responding to him, John Jenkins, Group managing director of SIFAX Group, who thanked the AES boss for his visit, assured the auto exporter and other stakeholders in the business – consignees, agents, among others, of the company’s readiness to exceed expectations through provision of excellent service for which the company is noted for.

AES and SIFAX Group are jointly revolutionising the RoRo industry in Nigeria with the one-stop shop service that includes port terminal services, stevedoring, shipping agency and off-dock services.

Uzoamaka Anagor-Ewuzie