Exporters face weighing hurdle amid Nigeria’s search for FX

As Nigeria seeks ways of getting more foreign exchange into the country, non-oil exporters now hold the destiny of Africa’s largest economy in their hands, as they must comply with a new resolution mandating containers to have verified weight.

The new resolution, which is driven by the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), requires exporters’ containers to have verified and acceptable weight as a condition for loading them onto ships for export.

At a sensitisation seminar on IMO’s Verifiable Gross Mass (VGM) of Containers in Lagos, Olusegun Awolowo, CEO, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), said this was  targeted at guaranteeing  Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), adding that this requirement would become legally effective on July 1, 2016.

“This stipulates that before a packed container can be loaded onto a ship, its weight must be determined through weighing. This accordingly means that it is a violation of SOLAS to load a packed container aboard a vessel without a proper weight verification and there is no exception to this requirement,” Awolowo said.

He said it had become pertinent for the NEPC to sensitise Nigerian exporters on the need to comply with this international requirements so as to avoid delays or outright rejection of their consignments for exports.

“You are also aware of the current developments negatively impacting the performance of the non-oil export sector of our economy, the challenges faced by our exporters and the urgent need to diversify the economy through enhanced non-oil export earnings. Therefore an issue like the SOLAS Convention, if not properly handled, would serve as another major impediment to non-oil exporter. This, therefore, emphasises the urgent need for all stakeholders to put hands on deck to ensure all the players along the value chain are fully aware of the Convention as well as guarantee full compliance so that our exporters are fully covered and ensure that it does not impact negatively on our non-oil export performance,” he added.

Dakuku Peterside, DG/CEO, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said there were two methods allowed under this convention for weighing a packed container.

“Method one involves weighing using certified and calibrated equipment. This involves weighing a container with its contents pre-packed, or to weigh the contents separately from the container. This process involves weighing each loaded container individually,” Peterside said.

“Method two involves weighing using ‘calculated weight’. This involves adding up the tare weight of the container with all individual items packed and the packing materials, using an approved process,” he said.

He said the impact of the new convention on the Nigerian non-oil exports was that export containers that could not meet the above guidelines would be rejected by the liner operators in the country.

“This will seriously affect the foreign exchange earnings and the efforts by the Federal Government of Nigeria to diversify the economy from oil to non-oil oriented economy.  The multiplier effects on maritime exclusion will definitely spread to other sectors of the economy such as the freight forwarders, the farmers, the regulators, the exporters and other relevant stakeholders in the entire Nigerian maritime corridor,” he said.

Tunde Oyelola, chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Group (MANEG), said strict adherence to the rules would eradicate accidents at sea, adding that insurance companies should ensure that manufacturers benefitted adequately from their premium.

He said globally, on a daily basis, an estimated five to six million containers were on the high seas, carrying everything ranging from potato chips to refrigerators, but regretted that not all of the loaded containers make it to their  various destinations, according to Svedberg Maersk crew.

 

ODINAKA ANUDU

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