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Tag: import

  • Cars import drops by 90 per cent

    Cars import drops by 90 per cent

    Toyota (Nigeria) Limited (TNL) has said importation of new cars dropped by about 90 per cent between the first quarter of last year and this year.

    While 3,500 units were imported in  the first quarter of last year, only 350 units were imported in the first quarter of this year amid biting recession worsened by the devaluation of naira and scarcity of foreign exchange.

    TNL Managing Director Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo, who reeled out this figure at an interactive session with reporters in Lagos, disclosed that the total import in 2015 was 18,000. It dropped to 7000 last year, while Toyota had a share of 43 per cent of the 2015 imports and 38 per cent in 2016.

    Despite the drop in sales and importation, Ade-Ojo said Toyota grew its share from 24 per cent in 2015 to about 26 per cent last year.

    He said total forecast for the year would between 8,000 and 10,000.

    He attributed the reduction in importation to high duty of 70 per cent, which, according to him, dissuades many companies from importing new vehicles. For instance, duty on Land Rover alone is over N15million.

    According to him, in 2015, the total retail market was 32,000 units of vehicles, which plunged to 18,000  last year (about 42 per cent).

    Also, he said commercial vehicles sold more last year at 70 per cent while passenger cars recorded 30 per cent.

    “The scarcity of forex affected businesses last year and that affected importation. Also, there was the devaluation of the naira. Whereas in the first start of last year, dollar was just about N200. By the end of the year, it had doubled. So, prices of vehicles also pretty much doubled in the space of one year and a lot of businesses could not afford to pay for the increase given that they were also struggling to survive,” he said.

  • Fed Govt approves 48hr for import, export trade deals timeline

    Fed Govt approves 48hr for import, export trade deals timeline

    The Federal Government has approved the reduction of documentation requirements and timeline for import and export trade transactions to 48 hours.

    A circular to authorised dealers, signed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Director, Trade and Exchange Department, W.D. Gotring explained that the revised documentation requirements and timeline for processing Form ‘NXP’ include the Revised Import Documentation: Bill of lading, Certificate of Origin (formerly Combined Certificate of Value of Origin), Commercial Invoice and Exit Note (formerly Exit Gate).

    Other documentations are Form ‘M’, Packing List, Single Goods Declaration and Product Certificate. Other revised export documentation include Bill of Lading, Certificate of Origin, Commercial Invoice, Single Goods Declaration, Nigerian Export Proceeds (NXP) Form, Clean Certificate of Inspection (CCI).

    The CBN said the timeline for processing Form ‘NXP’ by the authorised dealers shall be a maximum of 48 hours from the receipt of the application subject to appropriate documentation.

    “Authorised dealers shall submit returns to the CBN on compliance with the 48 hours timeline. All authorised dealers are therefore advised to note and bring the provisions of the circular to the attention of their customers,” the circular explained.

  • ‘Ban footwear import’

    They said they will produce more shoes, sandals, bags and other leather-based items, but they also have one special plea: ban all footwear imports.

    At Ariaria International Market, Aba, Abia State, nothing will please the craftsmen more than freezing out all footwear imports. The move will boost their business, no doubt, but it will also help government realise its plan to shore up the parlous economy by patronising locally-made goods.

    The leather workers under their umbrella organisation, Abia State Leather and Allied, Shoe Manufacturers Import and Export Union, made this position known at a town hall meeting in the commercial city with a member of the House of Representatives Ossy Prestige.

    The group, while calling for financial assistance from the federal government, also appealed to the World Bank to assist their members with funds.

    The shoe manufacturers stated that if the necessary funds were made available to them, they will improve on their product quality and volume, provide job for over 60,000 unemployed youths and generate more money for the state and the country.

    Various speakers at the event including the president of the association, Mr. Chinedu Amaonyeanaeze Maurice Dike lamented the inability of members of the union to have access to funds or loan on low interest rate and stringent conditions by most of the financial institutions in Aba and other parts of the state.

    According to Dike, leather clusters in Ariaria International market remain the fulcrum of income generation to the state and have done a lot in providing jobs for unemployed, but skilled youths who could have taken to crime and become societal nuisance.

    In his speech, Ambassador Darlington Onuoha, a consultant to the union regretted the continued increase patronage of foreign wears by some residents of the state and the country at large which he said was not in the best interest of the state and Nigerian economy.

    Onuoha who lauded efforts of the Aba shoe manufacturers in producing quality shoes he said would stand the taste of time and expressed his belief that with the right machine and training, the shoe manufacturers can compete favourably and even outshine their counterparts at the world level.

    In his response, Prestige who represents Aba North and South Federal Constituency, urged them to be proud of their products by labeling them ‘made-in-Aba’.

    Prestige assured the shoemakers of his commitment towards ensuring that he draw the attention of the federal government and his colleagues to invest and promote Made-in-Aba wears.

    He expressed hope that the gains of patronising and promoting locally made goods especially as the country battles recession could be one of the ways to boost the economy and also help the traders make money from their sweats.

    He promised to bring in investors that would help to invest in goods made-in-Aba and help the traders get the international connections which will help them exchange business ideas and form alliances which would help them in their businesses.

    The Aba North and South lawmaker also promised to use his position as the representative of the two core local governments that generate the highest revenue for Abia State in the House of Representatives to promote the cause of the people in getting financial assistance and the help them to draw the attention of the federal government to their plight even as he surged them to support the efforts of the federal government to promote locally manufactured goods and services.

     

  • Banks to contribute 5% of PAT to fund import substitution

    Banks to contribute 5% of PAT to fund import substitution

    •Cashless policy rollout in 30 states coming

    Deposit Money banks have agreed to contribe five per cent of their Profit After Tax (PAT) to a pool of funds to fund eligible bankable projects meant for exports and to drive the economy.

    Based on the industry’s last three years profit and loss account, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and members of the Bankers’ Committee have estimated that about N24.9 billion almost N25 billion will be contributed annually by the banks which on the average, is the expected yield of the five per cent PAT of the banks in the last three years.

    Addressing reporters at the end of the first  committee’s meeting for this year, Director Banking Supervision of the CBN, Mr Ahmed Abdullahi,  said the fund would be kept in the CBN “and the scheme will be controlled by members of the bankers committee itself, there will be a project review committee that will review submissions by entrepreneurs that require funding and that project review committee would make the recommendation to the the board of trustees of the bankers committee.”

    Abdullahi stated that “the scheme is such that each bank will have an equity holding in the scheme based on its annual contribution from its profit.”

    He added that “banks have submitted their 2016 statement of account and they are to be published not later than April of 2017 so we’re going to start the scheme in 2017 using 2016 financials of banks. The idea is to help the federal government’s drive to diversify the economy, any scheme or industry that is going to be export driven will benefit, similarly any industry that is going to provide import substitution.”

    The decision to introduce this new initiative, he explained is because “a number of SMEs and agric businesses do not have enough credit to drive business activities so the Bankers’ Committee felt that they should lend a helping hand to the economy in providing credit to those businesses that are important to the real sector, those businesses that are important in diversifying the economy away from oil.”

    A project he said will be financed for a maximum of 10 years it can be earlier, the gestation period is what matters, businesses do not have long term funding this can allow funding up to a period of 10 years.

    Corroborating what the CBN official said, Managing Director of FSDH, Mrs Hamda Ambah,  noted that “this is an equity fund not a loan, the banks will come and provide equity that will be there for up to 10 years and the banks will also take an equity and look at getting equity type returns before they exit in 10 years. No interest rates, just a share in the profit, the banks collectively will have an ownership stake and benefit if the investment is successful and exit after 10 years. It will be like we are coming to take shares in your company, it’s like partnership.”

     

  • ‘Ban on vehicle import through land border ’ll cost 3m jobs’ 

    About three million people would lose their jobs following the Federal Government’s ban on the importation of fairly–used vehicles through the land borders, the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria, has said.

    Making this known in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, its National Organising and Social Secretary, Alhaji Bashir Idris-Ataka, warned that the policy would further worsen Nigeria’s unemployment problem.

    Na’ala Motors Company Managing Director, Gusau, Idris-Ataka, said those likely to lose their jobs as a result of the policy include dealers, middlemen and drivers. “We are appealing to the government to look at the policy again and change it  to  a better alternative, considering its effect on the economy,” he said.

    Idris-Ataka advised the government to reduce the customs duty charges, saying the high charges were responsible for the high cost of fairly used vehicles being imported into the country.

    His words: “We have met with the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service and the House of Representatives Committee on Customs Service. And we have laid our complaints before them. We are hoping it will yield positive results”

    Idris-Ataka said that government should look into the complaints carefully and see the problems that the policy may cause and provide possible solutions to them.

    He described the association as a law-abiding one that had been contributing immensely to the economy by providing employment opportunities to millions of Nigerians.

    “We are ever ready to cooperate with government at all levels to improve the socio-economic development of the country. We also contribute to the nation’s income, as we pay revenue to government at all levels. We are, therefore, appealing to government to listen to our complaints,” the auto dealer said.

  • Govt woos foreign investors under fuel import model

    To boost fuel supply, the Federal Government is wooing foreigners to invest in its refineries under the Direct Sale and Direct Purchase (DSDP) Import model.

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) introduced the DSDP in its dertermination to ensure uninterupted fuel supply.

    Under the arrangement, it will allocate crude tos elcet foreign refineries in exchange for fuel.

    In the past, the government adopted the conventional crude for products (known as swap), to bring fuel into the country. Under it, notable world oil marketing firms, such as Transfigura, and Vitol, were given crude in exchange for fuel.

    NNPC’s spokesman Ndu Ughamadu, told The Nation on phone that bringing in foreign  firms was in tandem with the government’s policy to grow the economy.

    Ughamadu said: “If, in the long run, crude oil refiners from developed economies, which would operate under the Direct Sale and Direct Purchase import model, wish to invest in Nigeria, they are welcomed. The more investors invest in refineries in Nigeria, the better for the country.”

    He said the government had been calling for more local and foreign investments, to promote growth.

    “Earlier, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Kachikwu, travelled to India to invite investors into the country to encourage the growth of the sector and the economy. The Direct Sale and Direct Purchase import is in the right direction as it is capable of improving the growth of the industry,” he added.

    He said besides Transfigura, there were other firms refining crude oil for Nigeria.

    International Institute of Energy and Law Vice President, Prof Wunmi Iledare, said the Direct Sale and Direct Purchase import model is a temporary measure to ease fuel supply.

    He said the government’s ultimate goal was to bring in foreign investors that would invest in the refineries. He said the long-term plan, which the government has for the sector, was to bring in foreign investors to invest in refineries.

    The government, Iledare said, was not ready to tamper with the plans in view of the strategic importance of the sector to the economy.

    Iledare said: “For me, the DSDP model will be a temporary initiative when one considers the fact that the Federal Government has been looking for ways to end the lingering fuel crisis and related problems with products supply and distribution. The model is a stop-gap measure introduced by NNPC to address the problems in the downstream sub-sector of the petroleum industry.”

    Iledare, also President, International Association of Energy Economist (IAEE), said DSDP import model was better than swapping because it would pave way for more refineries to emerge.

    He said the government could bring foreign investors, since it was unable to fix its own refineries, adding that Nigeria has no reason to import fuel being one of the largest energy entrepreneurs in the continent.

  • Rethink ban of cars import through land borders

    SIR: I have read patiently and read with rapt attention the reason being put forward by the promoters and supporters of the recent ban of cars import through the land borders. However, up till this hour, I am not convinced of the reasons given to justify that awkward policy.

    Government all over the world utilises the principles of market segmentation in their dealings with the citizens, so that the policies would be tailored-made to suit the various strata of the citizenry. Why on earth would a sensible government come up with a one-size-fit-all policy when the environment in which the policy is expected to be implemented is segmented?

    How would a car dealer that can afford to import only one unit of car through the Maigatari border in Jigawa State be made to ship the car through Lagos Port covering thousands of kilometres when his market is in Jigawa/Kano axis? What about the risk involved?

    What happened to those small scale traders who go about their businesses in the Kamba, Illela, MaiAdua, Mubi and other border communities which relied mostly on those car importers and their workers for survival? Is the government saying they should all pack up their businesses?

    What this policy is saying in a simple term is that, an agency of government that is saddled with the responsibilities of collecting import duties have failed in the discharge of its responsibilities. And coming up with this policy is not the panacea to the problem; rather, it would compound the problem since thousands of people would certainly lose their jobs.

    Can’t government utilize information technology to tackle the problem of smuggling? What happened to the inter-agency collaboration that is being put in place? What about the capacity building for the Customs personnel? These are some of the things that need to be done, instead of subjecting the poor masses to avoidable hardship.

    I am happy that the National Assembly has intervened by asking the executive arm to suspend that policy. That is a good development, because President Muhammadu Buhari, Hamid Ali, Kemi Adeosun cannot claim to know better or feel the pulse of the people than the over 400 parliamentarians who were drawn from their various field of human endeavour.

     

    • Mohammed Auta,

    Jalingo, Taraba State.

  • Cut on import duties ‘ll boost economy, says Kashamu

    Cut on import duties ‘ll boost economy, says Kashamu

    The Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Buruji Kashamu, has commended the Federal Government for the cut on import duties for 173 items, describing the move as one that will “boost industry and rejuvenate the small-scale sector of the economy”.

    “That good news is coming on the heels of the recovery of Sambisa Forest and the hugely successful anti-corruption campaign which has saved the country trillions of naira. With all these, our economy should experience a rebound,” he said.

    Kashamu, who spoke yesterday in Ijebu Igbo, Ijebu North Local Government Area while addressing leaders of the PDP and some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who defected to the PDP, said while it is true that an opposition party may not agree with every policy of the current government, it must be done constructively.

    His words: “While I reckon that we may not all agree with the policies of the government all of the time and also appreciate the fact that, as a people, we are faced with some challenges, the way to go is not to seek to pull down the roof on our heads.

    “As patriotic citizens, we should show empathy, support and offer constructive advice through the appropriate channel and not seek to play to the gallery by consistently painting a gloomy picture and wishing Nigeria and Nigerians bad whereas experts and more knowledgeable people are saying that things will improve with faith in God and support for our leaders at various levels.

    “Let us choose courage and faith over confusion and fear. Let us see the cup as half-full instead of half-empty. Let us put on our thinking caps, look inwards and tap into our innate enterprising abilities as a people and continue to contribute to the growth and development of our dear Native Land, for, as it is said, though tongues and tribe may differ, in brotherhood we stand. In spite of what the naysayers might be saying, the truth is that there are opportunities everywhere.”

    Kashamu also took a swipe at Governor Ayodele Fayose for his role in the leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    At the meeting,  1,500 members of the APC in Ogun West Senatorial District defected and were received by the state PDP Chairman, Chief Adebayo Dayo.

    Kashamu flayed Fayose for his frequent attacks on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, saying every issue must not be politicised.

    According to him, the governor is only trying to pull the wool over the eyes of party members to cover his tracks.

    He appealed to the Yoruba people to ignore what he described as the “doomsday predictions” of the Ekiti governor and rally round the government towards rebuilding the nation.

    Kashamu said, “I have continually stressed the need for us to encourage those it has pleased the Almighty Allah to choose for us as our leaders at the various levels of government beginning from Mr. Integrity himself, President Muhammadu Buhari to the last but not least, irrespective of the party they belong.

    “It is ungodly to do otherwise. It is a rebellion against constituted authority.

    I say this because I am not unmindful of the antics of a Governor in the South West who claims to have taken on the toga of the ‘leader or voice of the opposition.’ Let us not be deceived; he is not.

    “As you probably would have known, he is only trying to pull the wool over our eyes in order to cover up his tracks. He seeks to use his rabid attacks on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government as a cover when called to account for his deeds in and out of office.

    “He is the architect of the leadership crisis rocking our party in the South West and at the national level. Let all our elders and true sons and daughters in Yorubaland ignore his doomsday predictions and come together in unity and encourage the efforts of this government that are geared towards rebuilding our country.

    “That way, we will be in a position to get the best for our people in the scheme of things. Let us not allow the arrogance and indiscretions of one man rob us of the good that should come to Yorubaland.”

  • High dairy import worries dangote

    High dairy import worries dangote

    About 98 per cent of dairy products consumed in Nigeria are imported, the Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said.

    The industrialist warned that the nation was at risk of hunger in the next few years if food importation is not checked.

    Addressing some students of the executive Masters in Business Administration (MBA) class of the Lagos Business School who visited the Dangote Petrochemical Refinery in Lagos, Dangote said his company would develop dairy plants and develop homegrown milk production to reduce importation.

    “By 2020, it is estimated that the Nigerian population would have risen to between 207 million and 210 million. If we do not make efforts to grow and process our own foods, God forbid, we will go hungry,” Dangote said.

    He stated that his company has been in talks with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on ways it could add value to local production, and that the company has marked massive dairy production for the next three years.

    “We cannot solve all Nigeria’s problems, but at least we can embrace and add value to areas where we have comparative advantage,” Dangote said.

    He added that Dangote Group was the most capitalised company on the stock exchange, with investments, which include six ongoing projects that would create not less than 250,000 jobs across the nation.

    He said that the refinery, which primarily majored in gas plants, petrochemicals and fertilizer production, could generate an annual foreign exchange savings and earnings of $15 billion.

    The industrialist also said it would generate up to 1500 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs in support services and logistics, which would also include up to 22,000 housing facilities.

    Dangote also said that the East West Onshore Gas Gathering Section (EWOGGS) pipeline of the refinery was a $3b investment specifically dedicated to generate 12,000 mega watts of power for industries.

  • Auto import, sales drop by 60%

    The economic downturn has forced a drop in semi knocked down parts (SKDs) and fully built vehicles (FBUs) imports by 60 per cent.

    Automobile sales by makers and dealers have also gone down by 50 per cent, with Nigerians focusing more on food and cutting cost on luxuries.

    This situation has pushed automakers into focusing more on after sales, as many Nigerians would rather have their old vehicles maintained than buy new ones.

    Lamenting the situation,Toyota Nigeria Limited (TNL) Managing Director Kunle Ade-Ojo described 2016 as a tough year for the company and the industry.

    He said because of foreign exchange constraints, the level of importation of new vehicles dropped by over 60 per cent between January and September, with retail sales dipping by 50 per cent.

    With fears that the forex constraints may extend to 2017, the Toyota boss said corporate bodies who were big buyers of vehicles have resorted to cost-cutting measures to remain in business.

    “Prices of vehicles had doubled as a result of the forex constraint. As auto companies, we buy forex at black markets to increase turnover and avoid loss. But Toyota in Nigeria, we are built on a solid foundation and years of planning.

    “We have also adopted cost-cutting measures and all these are helping us to absorb the economic shocks now,” Ade-Ojo told newsmen last week during the company’s annual press briefing.

    Local automobile assembler Stallion Nissan Motors (Stallion NMN) has also reportedly scaled down its operations for some models due to difficulty in importing SKDs. Its spokesman Manny Philipson said auto makers are sharing “in the gloomy situation of the market.”

    His words: “Automakers can’t import SKDs and demand has shrunk. Nigerians now have very low disposable income and whenever disposable income is low, demand for vehicles also goes down. People will continue to use the old vehicle they have and do not buy new ones.”

    The automakers are now focusing on after-sales services. Ade-Ojo said despite maintaining a four per cent rise in market share in 2016, the company would focus more on after-sale services by January 2017.

    He added that this is bearing in mind that most corporate bodies and government agencies, which formed the largest chunk of its clientele, would use their vehicles much longer.