The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello, has urged the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) to review its laws to meet international standards and facilitate trade.
Bello made the plea in Lagos at a meeting of officials of the NAQS, NSC, shippers and freight forwarders.
According to him, the laws guiding the operations of NAQS are too old and should be reviewed to facilitate trade and reduce the cost of doing business.
The executive secretary said that the Minister of Transportation, Mr Chibuike Amaechi, had called for proper technologies to be used at the ports to reduce human contact.
“The Ministry of Transportation has launched electronic platforms to educate port users such as the Single Window, Standard Operating Procedures, among others, to support the Ease of Doing Business.
“NSC has partnered the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service on the need to facilitate international trade.
“The essence of this meeting is to dialogue on issues concerning imports and exports,” Bello said.
According to him, observations and comments received from shippers, importers and exporters concerning the services of NAQS led to the decision to bring everybody together for dialogue.
He said that the council felt there was misinformation somewhere and there was the need for everyone to come together and dialogue to enable the government achieve the Ease of Doing Business Agenda.
Bello said that the council held the diversification agenda of the government very high and was doing everything possible to ensure exporters carry out their operations.
He said, “All the regulatory agencies are servants to port users when it comes to the Ease of Doing Business’’.
Bello, however, said there were many infringements on exportation and importation, and there would be more meetings to make exports more attractive to many Nigerians.
The Chief Executive Officer of NAQS, Mr Vincent Isegbe, advised shippers not to import deadly pests and diseases that could harm the nation’s agricultural produce.
Isegbe urged exporters and importers to always seek import permit before importing plant, aquatic and animal products into the country in order to save the citizens from dangerous diseases coming with such items.
According to him, the objective of NAQS is to prevent the introduction, establishment and spread of exotic pests and diseases of agricultural products in the course of international trade.
He said that importers and exporters should always play by the rules in order to preserve and safeguard the nation’s agricultural produce.
Isegbe said the service would ensure that consignments going out of the country meet international standards to avoid being confiscated.