SON worries over high volume of imported substandard products
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has expressed worry over the high volume of imported substandard products in the Nigerian market, saying that over 95 percent of these products come through the seaports, airports and land borders.
Alarmingly, the increased volume of these imported substandard products has resulted to the closure of local companies that are into manufacturing of such products due to the inability of locally-manufactured goods to compete with the low prices that usually go with imported low quality products.
Speaking at a one-day stakeholders’ forum on maritime industry held in Lagos recently, Joseph Odumodu, director general of SON, said that Customs licensed agents and importers had a critical role to play in reducing the volume of imported substandard products in Nigerian markets. This, he said, had become imperative if Nigeria must build a robust economy that is capable of creating jobs through the development of the manufacturing sector.
He said SON was considering imposing penalty on countries exporting substandard products to Nigeria. He added that the operatives of the agency would continue to intercept containers on the highway because of the insincerity of Nigerian importers who, he said, were in the habit of evading justice if allowed to take their containers of substandard goods to the warehouses.
“SON works with intelligence report such that our men monitor and follow containers that move at night. We used to lock containers of fake products in the warehouses before and seal the warehouse. But now we discovered that before we come back, the containers of goods will disappear,” Odumodu said.
Also speaking at the event, Leke Oyewole, senior special assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan, disclosed that the Federal Government had ordered that all government agencies involved in ports operation must introduce automation in their services. He also expressed worries over the volume of imported substandard goods in the country, saying interception of these goods ends up delaying cargo clearance and adds to the cost of doing business at the ports.
Oyewole noted that the plan of the government was to ensure that the automation exercise takes effect in the next three months, adding that the idea of automation was that freight forwarders can stay in the comfort of their offices to complete all the documentation to enable them clear their consignments.
The project, he noted, would be handled by world-class organisations, confirming that the influx of substandard products led to the death and closure of many local companies. He called on freight forwarders to obey trade regulations and discourage their importers from bringing in substandard goods because of the havoc it causes in the country.
Oyewole also expressed concern over the delay and cost of doing business at the nation’s ports, adding that cargoes that should be cleared within days spend weeks, which makes Nigerian ports very expensive.
“Rents paid for undue delay of cargo at the port have been on the increase. The turnaround time for ships in some cases is on the high side and this is not good for the economy because the high cost of doing business at the port would be transferred to the end users. This is why Nigerian port has remained the most expensive port in the world and agencies need to collaborate with each other to achieve efficient services at the port,” he said.
Uzoamaka Anagor