Cotton producers seek end to smuggling to revive sector

The National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) has urged the federal government to reduce the rate of smuggling of finished cotton products into the country to revive the sector.

NACOTAN in a communiqué issued at the end of its maiden international conference in Abuja said the revamp of the cotton, textile and garment sector is significantly hinged on reducing smuggling at the country’s borders. Therefore, the federal government must provide a more aggressive control at the country’s borders by setting up an anti-smuggling task force at all points of our borders.

It stated that it is working on signing an MoU with Mali and India to train cotton farmers in the country while proposing the need to trade with India using local currencies of both countries.

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“We must ensure that cotton farming in Nigeria is rebranded to become competitive and therefore attractive, especially to the teeming youths of our nation. There is need to follow up urgently on the offer made by Nigeria Export Promotion Council to support cotton by reducing exportation costs using the instrument of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) while subscribing to the NEXIM Bank’s initiative to allow cotton benefit from its financing intervention,” it said.