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Exchange rate: Agents lament low importation, trapped vehicles
The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agent (ANLCA) on Saturday said that the floating of the nation’s currency had caused a drop in vehicle importation in the nation’s ports.
The agents also said that vehicles imported into the country were trapped at the ports due to the rise in exchange rate which skyrocketed vehicle duties.
They disclosed these in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Alhaji Rilwan Amuni, Taskforce Chairman of ANLCA, told NAN that the floating of the naira was inevitable because government wanted a uniform rate.
Amuni, however, urged the government to look into other levies paid at the ports.
According to him, the challenges faced by customs agents at the ports were enormous because of the high dollar rate which hiked duties on vehicles to over 50 per cent.
“The job we used to do after the advent of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) in which we charged N1.4 million, is now like N2.2 million and this has resulted in vehicles being trapped in the ports.
“Also, there has been a drop in importation because things are really biting hard,” he said.
Amuni added that the development had affected goods already imported, noting that they had no choice but to clear at the current rate.
He also urged government to look into the levy placed on used goods, adding that they are proposing for a dialogue with the Federal Government on ways to jettison this levy so that there would be a relief.
“Some people are confusing the tax that was suspended recently with the issue of levy. It is not levy that they removed, it’s the Import Adjustment Tax that was supposed to have started.
“We are appealing to government to remove the levy because what does a poor man derive when he buys a Corolla 2004 and pays duty and fine again? The only goods that are supposed to have levy are luxury goods .
“Maybe you are a big man and you want to ride a yatch, helicopter, that is what they are supposed to levy not on used goods,” he said.
Contributing, Mr Michael Imonitie, the Secretary, ANLCA TinCan chapter, said goods were not being cleared at the port due to the challenge.
Imonitie disclosed that out of 100 importers only 20 were taking their goods out of the ports.
According to him, this means that most goods will be incurring demurrage and overtime or even abandoned.
“We all know that there is going to be a negative effect on clearance of vehicles at the port .
“Since government announced uniform exchange rate, the exchange rate has risen from N422.3 to N589.55 and now N770.88 which is pure black market rate . The exchange rate of CBN is N756/N757, government was supposed to have given us a notice of either 60 or 90 days before implementation.
“This is because a lot of importers have opened their Form M at the old exchange rate. I have not seen any importer that have done any new importation. Most of the goods in the port are old stock.
“This means that the end cost of goods will be high. If I am being forced to pay the exchange rate twice of what I have paid before it means that the end users will be the ones to suffer it,” he said.
He said that the burden was on importers and being felt by the clearing agents, the custom brokers, due to the jobs they do, and most of their clients do not have the difference to pay for the exchange rate.
“Some goods have been lying down in the port, some agents are going extra mile to borrow money from individuals because banks have not opened the window for soft loan.
“The hardship is almost 85 per cent of what government has imposed on us .
“The importers are sourcing the money for clearing agents because they are the ones that pay the bill, they pay terminal operators, shipping lines, we only take our commission.
“Now, the importers are complaining and we want them to channel their complaints through the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Chartered Institute of Commerce of Nigeria because their voices need to be heard,” he said.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Anambra State Sector Command, has confirmed the death of a woman in an accident at Okpoko Market on the Asaba-Onitsha Road.
The Sector Commander, Mr Adeoye Irelewuyi, who confirmed the accident to journalists in Awka on Thursday, said that the woman was hit while she was crossing the road.
He said that the accident, which occurred on Wednesday, involved a commercial tow truck with registration number XA550BMA.
“Eyewitness report reaching us indicates that the truck was towing a vehicle in an uncontrollable speed along the axis.
“The vehicle that was being towed got detached from the tow truck.
“It hit and killed a female adult, who was said to be crossing the road, while the tow truck continued its movement.
“FRSC rescue team came to the scene and took the woman to Toronto Hospital, Onitsha, where she was confirmed dead and her body deposited at the hospital’s mortuary,” he said.
While sympathising with the family of the dead, the sector commander urged motorists, especially tow truck drivers, to exercise a high level of professionalism.
He also urged the drivers to always use standard equipment and avoid speeding.
The Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Mojeed Iyiola, said the state government’s maize palliative to members of the association made a positive impact on the sector.
Iyiola said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.
“We received about 150,000 tons of maize in February from the Lagos State government as palliative to cushion the effect of high feed prices.
“The major benefit of the palliative is that it actually cushioned the cost of production for most poultry farmers in the state.
“The palliative was beneficial as it made the cost of some poultry produce, especially eggs to drop,” Iyiola said.
He noted that prior to the palliative, a crate of egg was sold between N3,500 and N3,700 at the farm gate, but after the palliative, it now sells between N3,200 and N3,400.
According to the PAN chair, retailers and middlemen who sell from N3,800 to N4,200 do that for their personal gain.
“We have urged our members to sell their eggs at reasonable prices following the receipt of the palliative from the government.
“We appreciate the Lagos State government for the palliative but we also urge the federal government to do likewise, to further reduce the cost of production in the sector.
“This will consequently lead to drop in the prices of all poultry produce across board,” he said.
He said the palliative was shared among financial members of the association at no extra cost.
“As an association we shared the grains equally across PAN’s eight zones in the state equally. We also mandated each zone not the sell even a grain of the maize.
“We, however, considered new poultry farmers who wanted to the join the association as beneficiaries of the palliative,” said Iyiola.
He noted that through the palliative, more poultry farmers were recruited into the association.
“The maize was shared only to poultry farmers and not feed millers, it is the major component of poultry feed formulation,” he said.
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