The National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) has warned Nigerians to expect a low turn-around of cargoes into the different ports, starting from June 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Council said that the effects of COVID-19 on cargo throughput would be more noticeable from next month.
The Deputy National President of the Council, Adeniyi Ajayi, told journalists that most of the goods presently at the nation’s ports were those that were imported five to six months ago, with a good number of them waiting to be cleared.
Ajayi noted that if something drastic was not done by the federal government, Nigerians may witness hike in the prices of imported items as demand would soon outweigh supply.
The NCMDLCA boss explained, “We do not produce much. We rely on importation for almost all our needs and that is why this whole thing will affect us more.”
He noted that most importers cannot go back to China until relaxation of air travel, stressing that this would create a gap.
He charged the Nigerian government to focus on agriculture since the country has lots of arable land for mechanised cultivation.
He pointed out that with the dwindling prices of oil, government should properly fund the agricultural sector to ensure that the country makes the most of it.
