Despite its high population, many airports and airlines, Nigeria is not harnessing the huge potential in the cargo export space, pushing it to a fifth rating in Africa. To reverse the trend, aeronautical authorities are collaborating with agencies involved in the processing and promotion of cargo export. Experts say increased participation by local carriers in cargo haulage amid other interventions could fetch the country better rating. KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR reports.
Nigeria is in a distant race among countries in cargo export on the continent.
The poor performance of Africa’s most populous country in the cargo export and allied value chain contradicts the huge revenue potential from the sector.
According to statistics from the global airports regulator, Airports Council International (ACI), the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos , with 204, 649 tonnes of cargo ranks fifth in Africa.
Nigeria is behind Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, with 363, 204 tonnes of cargo.
Egypt’s Cairo International Airport, ranks second with 333,536 tonnes, South Africa’s Oliver Reginald International Airport ranks third with 304, 018, while Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, ranks fourth with 226, 417 tonnes of cargo.
Worried over the trend, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), said Nigeria needs to scale up measures to increase the volume of cargo exports at the over 13 airports designated for cargo across the country.
The cargo terminals are in MMIA Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, (SMICA), Owerri, Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Margaret Ekpo Airport, Calabar, Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Makurdi Airport, Minna Airport, Jos Airport, Ilorin Airport, Yola Airport and Kebbi Airport.
Besides these cargo terminals, some state governments, including Ogun, Ekiti, and Yobe states have invested huge funds to drive the cargo export value chain.
To accelerate the drive for increase in cargo export, experts have called for the development of an aviacargo guideline, which will spell out the frontiers for expansion.
Speaking while putting together a team to step up cargo exports at the airports, Managing Director, FAAN, Captain Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu, said the collection of experienced professionals in the cargo value chain would drive the development of an Implementable Aviation Cargo Roadmap that would address the challenges to move cargo business to a desired sustainable level in the long run.
Yadudu said the roadmap/guidelines will address how aviation cargo processing and facilitation would increase to enable Nigeria rank among the first or at least second in Africa before the end of 2027.
He said: “Currently, we are in the fifth position in Africa, having facilitated only 204,649 tonnes of cargo in 2021. In domestic cargo, Nigeria faciliated only 8, 895 tonnes in 2021. By our projection of 25 per cent on year-on-year incremental basis, we expect to be ranked first or second in Africa before the year 2027.”
The FAAN boss said most of the bottlenecks identified by various organisations were being considered at the Ministerial level. “I can assure you that the administrative challenges already identified will be rectified for more efficiency in our operations and logistics,’’ he said.
Setting the terms of reference for the committee, Yadudu urged the members to articulate action plans that meet international best practices and assign timelines for facilitation of cargo processing at airports.
He urged the members to articulate guidelines that meet international best practices for public-private partnership in developing modern cargo infrastructure and facilities for optimum air cargo facilitation in line with destination country’s standards.
Yadudu tasked the team: “You are to articulate programmes and incentives that will encourage mass participation of local airlines in domestic cargo facilitation. You are to articulate mechanisms that will bridge the turn around time in cargo facilitation and look at other suggestions that may help us achieve the desired goal in cargop business in our airports in addition to articulating solutions of lack of adequate insurance coverage in the cargo value chain.”
The issue of guidelines could not have come at a better time, as recent events have underscored the importance of developing such a template for Nigeria to leverage in the global space.
Data in five years (2017 to 2021) are: international air cargo for goods cargo export, 57, 851, 268; 2603,468 23,779,038, 16,094,365 29,066,626 kiologrammes.
Statistics for imported cargo stands at 110,855,606 139,334,9311 148,269,602 131,376,073 188,747,766 in the period under review.
The sub-total for goods stands at 168,706,874 164,938,399 172,048,640 147,470,438 217,814,392.
The export ratio-to-import for goods in the period under review stands at 34:66 16:84 14:86 11:89 13:87.
According to the data, export figures for mails stand at 9,017,201 19,512,013 5,475,261 4,091,549 4,777,619 while figures for mail imported stands at 30,002,394 27,806,505 50,150,648 40,496,187 69,232,560.
The sub-total for mails was put at 39,019595 47,318, 513 55, 625,908 44,587,736 74,010,178 respectively with the ration of export to import in same category standing at 23:77 41:59 10:90 9:91 6:94.
The grand total for goods and mails in the five years under review was put at 207,726,469 212,256,917 227,674,549 192,058,154 291,824,571.
Statistics from the Directorate of Commercial and Business Development in FAAN indicates that Nigeria’s imports were more than exports through air cargo.
Yadudu clarified: “In 2017, about 168.7 tons of goods transited through our airports, and importation accounted for about 66 per cent of this total, while export of goods accounted for the balance of 34 per cent. And in the same year, about 39 tonnes of mails passed through our airports. While total mails import was 77 per cent, we exported only 23 per cent of it.
“Although the data shows a 52 per cent increase in the volume of goods and mails that passed through our airports in 2021 compared to 2020 data, it is not a cheering news to say that we have not been able to reduce the deficits in our ability to export more through our airports.
“If only we could bridge the gap, then we would confidently say that we will be ranked at the top of busiest cargo handling airport in Africa and compete favorably in the global aviation index.This should be our next task.The AviaCargo guidelines should be the clear way to go.”
The six local carriers flew the following cargoes: 7,710,663 8,618,387 9,848,086 7,104,306 8,895,616 in the five years under review.
Yadudu said: “It is obvious that we have a long way to go in the domestic air cargo facilitation. I believe that we can do much better given our population and agricultural capacity and output. It is not news that many of our farm produce are transported by road and as such most of the produce got damaged and lose quality in transit. This calls for urgent aviacargo intervention.
“The airlines are, therefore, urged to increase their capacity in domestic air cargo operations.’’
Last week, FAAN inaugurated three sub-committees on “Airports, Cargo and Export ” to drive its agenda of making Nigeria rank the first country with the largest tonnage of cargo from its aerodromes in Africa.
At the event held at FAAN headquarters annex in Lagos, Coordinator of the AviaCargo Committee, Mr Ikechi Uko, said the Federal Government was seeking ways to develop cargo export and value chain to boost revenue from non-oil sources.
To drive this, he said the sub-committees would be saddled with developing a roadmap, work plan and implementation programme in the next few weeks.
Uko said the sub-committees were expected to come up with proposals to deepen the participation of private sector players.
He urged the committee members to extend their tentacles to the over 15 cargo airports built by either some state governments or the Federal Government and the model to adopt in engaging operators in the cargo development space.
Uko said Nigeria with its huge population, large airports and number of domestic carriers ought to set the pace in cargo and export promotion by designing a template that will encourage local cargo incentives as well as attract funding initiative.
He said many facilitating agencies, including the Nigerian Export Promotion Council has established 13 clearing places for processing of cargo meant for the airports/seaports.
According to Uko, the Airport Sub- Committee Team comprising FAAN, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Skypower Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO), Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc, Nigeria Export Processing Zone ( NEPZA), Airline Operators of Nigeria(AON), Nigerian Customs Services and some players in the logistic value chain are to examine, among others, how to Nigeria the leading air cargo destination in Africa.
The team is also to carry out a needs assessment on the challenges of the value chain with focus on how to achieve the desired outcome.
Uko said: “The team is to consider ways of making the Lagos and Abuja Airports attractive as a hub. They are also to review or create Airport MasterPlan, vision and development strategy for establishing development priorities, consider multi-tenancy planning and expanding none airside business, free zone integration and airport warehousing, as well as infrastructure planning and handling of special cargo items.”
According to the coordinator, the Cargo Sub-Committee Team is expected, among other tasks, to examine the factors surrounding and limiting the growth in the cargo value chain.
The team, Uko said, is expected to itemise the constraints and suggests ways to mitigate them as well as identify opportunities for scale the cargo volumes.
He said: “The team is expected to come up with projections to be attained if the limitations are removed, list cargo operators in the region and the possibility of the routes they fly.
“The team is expected to examine the statutory regulatory framework guiding cargo export in Nigeria and the overlap, Identify facilities that needs to be put in place from farm and industry at the airport that will improve export. The team is expected to identify businesses and industry within the airport that can transform goods for export, identify carriers that can be brought to expand to expand the market.”
He listed members of the team to include Cargolux, GWX, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwaders(NAGAF), AON, Customs, SAHCO and NAHCO as well as other private sector players.
The coordinator gave the brief of the Export Sub-Committee to include finding out a list of produce for air cargo, markets for such produce, challenges of production as well as reasons export from Nigeria do not meet destination requirements.
Uko said of the team’s assignment: “This sub-committee is expected to look at ways of increasing production, industries amd users that could scale available opportunity, challenges faced by export sat destination possibiiity of transforming raw materials currently being exported, identifying sources for transformation at airport, providing projections of tonnage for potential opportunity and what needs to be put in place for sucessful export in terms of packaging and proper warehousingas well as end to end documentation and charge aggregation.”
The team’s membership comprises the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), NAFDAC, Farmers Association, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries, ABX Cargo Limited and government’s agencies.
