Over 12 million Nigeria-bound cargoes are stranded in Europe and Asia as a result of forex scarcity, OduNews reports.
The importers blamed the unstable and high exchange rate of dollars to Naira for their predicament, over the abandoned and strandedconsignments across ports in Europe and Asian countries.
Speaking with DailySun on Sunday, n importer, Mr. Silas Okocha, said efforts are now being made by the affected importers to source forex from neighbouring countries to ship the over 12 million cargoes to Nigeria amid great discomfort. “I can tell you for free, that importation to Nigerian Ports has reduced drastically since last year due to scarcity and unstable price of foreign exchange. Go to any of the ports and see things for yourself. How many importers can afford to buy a dollar for N700 and N710 to bring in consignment into the country?
“Presently, there over 12 million Nigerian bound cargoes stranded in Europe and Asia. These are cargoes that importers ordered when a dollar is between N460 to N550. They ordered these consignments and looking for money to ship them down before the dollar rose against their initial budget.
“In a situation like this, you start looking for additional money to ship your consignments. The shipping companies will not collect Naira to ship your consignments and that is why most importers are now going to neighboring countries such as Ghana and others to source for funds. That is why you also see price of every goods in the country increasing because every serious businessman will want to make profit from every kobo he invested in.
“This is one of the reasons why inflation keep rising every month. Just last week, inflation rate surged to 20.52 per cent in August, and the highest since September 2005. The new inflation rate will definitely put pressure on the apex bank to increase interest rates again. When this happens, price of goods will rise, cost of doing business and living will soar. My brother, Nigeria is at cross roads. This government is in total confusion and they don’t know what to do with the economy,” he lamented.
However, the President of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Otunba Frank Ogunjemite, noted that in over two years, the price of dollars has not been stable as naira exchange rate continues to decline, stressing that the dvelopment was killing importers, hence the need to review the nation’s fiscal policy to address some issues facing importers in the country.
He said government needs to assist importers financially especially those bringing in raw materials, who are sometimes, stuck in the middle with one to help them.
“Government must make provision for the importers under the Ministry of Finance. Naira is getting weak everyday and the conversion is not stable. If you look at Form M, it is not valid for forex. Even when the government made the forex available is not always enough…”
