Apapa Port Records Export Trade Worth N245bn in 2021

The Lagos Port complex situated in Apapa has disclosed that it exported goods worth over N245 billion in 2021. This record largely surpassed that of the year 2020 as non-oil commodities increased by about 110 percent in tonnage.

The Customs Area Controller, CAC of Apapa Area 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Yusuf Malanta made this known on Thursday, in a meeting to review the activities of the Command in the previous year. 

Malanta attributed the rise to the strategies put in place to sustain trade facilitation, adding that the executed plans had positively impacted the Apapa port export trade. 

The Customs Area Boss further said that the federal government policy and export incentives schemes of the Service trade facilitation and automation of NXP and CCI should be lauded as it also aided the improved record.

He, however, added that the Federal Government has set a target of N4.1 trillion for customs in 2022.

Appreciating its partnering agencies, Malanta avowed to keep up continuous collaboration with relevant agencies for bigger feats and effective port management.

He explained that through the Command’s anti-smuggling operations made a total of 103 seizures with Duty Paid Value, DPV of over N31.2 billion.

The seized items include: foreign per- boiled rice, tomato paste, secondhand clothes, unregistered pharmaceuticals like, tramadol, codeine syrup amongst others.

“Statistics from the export unit shows that goods with a total tonnage of about 5,380, 000 tons were exported in the year 2021, as against 1,300,000 metric tons exported in 2020.

“The Fee on Board, FOB value for the exported items also rose from $340 million in the year 2020 to $641 million in 2021 (N245 billion). Items exported include steel bars, agricultural and mineral products amongst others,” Malanta said.