Business
Body Lists Causes Of High Importation Costs
The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), has identified expensive costs of importing cargoes, inadequate warehousing facilities and alleged corrupt practices of customs officials as some of the problems militating against smooth operations of air cargo business at the nation’s airports.
Speaking through their spokesman, Iwuoha Amadike, the body told The Tide that the nation loses billions of Naira annually as a consequence of the leakages in the system, saying that it robbed the government and the importers of revenue that they ought to enjoy from the business. He thus called on the government to correct the anomaly that has given Nigeria a bad image internationally.
According to him, the uncoordinated air cargo business in Nigeria has driven away scores of investors who would have delved into air cargo business. He revealed that the number of ground handling companies is inadequate and warehouses obsolete, a situation, he said forced importers to either lose their cargoes or pay heavy demurrage. He also said that the ground handling companies lack adequate equipment to unload cargo from airplanes to the tarmac and finally to the warehouse. He lamented that the situation is even worse when two or more planes arrive at the same time.
The NAGAFF spokesman, noted that the state of airport facilities has stunted the growth of air cargo business, and called on the government to look into the situation. His words: “The charges they (Customs and airport officials) levy on the agents are too high but they have no alternatives. People prefer air as a means of conveying their goods because they want it urgently, but when the bottle necks become too much, people are forced to go to the seaports or border posts. This is not so in other countries, they laugh at us. We have to move with the world or the world will move without us.
The aprons are very small, we have had instances where aircraft came in with cargoes and went back with same at the importer’s cost. This should stop.
It is killing business and makes it difficult to facilitate trade”, he noted.
He alleged that officials of the Customs stationed at the various airports and seaports have divided themselves into various units and departments all in a bid to harass owners of goods to part with money.
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