FG called upon to provide preservation facilities at seaports

Abiodun OBA

An appeal has gone to the Federal Government to provide storage facilities at the country’s seaports to enhance preservation of commodities before export.

A cashew nuts exporter, Mr Mathew Obot, who made the appeal on Friday in Lagos said the absence of such facilities at the country’s ports was having negative bearing on export of produce and was discouraging many people from continuing with produce trade.

While considering the feasibility of fresh tomatoes export as being championed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Obot said the absence of storage facilities was the bane of the trade.

“Because of the paucity of the facilities, I do keep my produce far away from the port for preservation before transporting it to the port when the vessel is ready to sail.

“This process is double expenses; instead of taking it direct to the port from the places I bought it, I have to take it to another location for preservation.

“Many of my colleagues who cannot bear the cost of logistics involved in the business are no longer trading in it. Even we who are in it are just trying to exist,’’ he lamented.

Obot said that for the country to get it right in the balance of trade in the area of produce export, such facilities needed to be in place.

He added that the sector would create the more needed jobs in the value chain and encourage influx of foreign exchange and less pressure on the dollar as being witnessed currently.

According to him, apart from tomatoes, there are many other produce for which Nigeria has comparative advantages in the world market.