The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Trade

  • Nigeria, EU trade volume hits €39 billion

    Nigeria, EU trade volume hits €39 billion

    In 2014 alone, Nigeria’s total trade with the European Union (EU) stood at €39 billion with the EU accounting for 31 per cent of Nigeria’s total trade.

    Speaking at the pre-event press conference  of the  fifth EU-Nigeria business forum(EUNBF), held at Eko Hotel, Lagos, the Head of Trade and Economic,  EU, Mr. Filipo Amato said the EU investment stock in Nigeria grew from €23.8 billion in 2013 to €25.3 billion in 2014.

    He said with the fall in oil prices, EU-Nigeria trade declined by 26.7 per cent  to €29billion last year.

    “Nigerian exports to EU declined by 35 per cent while imports declined by seven per cent over the period. Unfortunately, about 97 per cent of the exports to the EU are oil and gas,” he said.

    To reverse this trend, Mr Amato said the forum is designed to strengthen the business relations between the country and the EU through identification of opportunities in the global textile value chain; expose Nigerian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to opportunities in the EU market through the platform of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) and explore the financing options available for funding the power sector and diversifying the energy mix in the country.

    Key private sector actors and policy makers in the country will have the opportunity to exchange business ideas with their counterparts from Europe during the  business forum scheduled for Lagos between November 10 and 11.

    He said this year’s event has: Harnessing Nigeria’s Potential for Economic Growth as theme and identify opportunities in the textile value chain  and proffer options for accessing long term finance for the power sector in Nigeria.

  • Nigeria’s live domestic animal trade hits N950b, says CBN

    Nigeria’s live domestic animal trade hits N950b, says CBN

    The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has estimated the total value of live animal trade between the northern and southern parts of the country to be at  between N850-N950 billion yearly.

    According to its latest figures, the total value of the Northeast-Lagos cattle trade market alone is estimated at N324 billion yearly. This does not include the North-South East cattle trade or the trade in small ruminants (sheep and goats).

    To sustain this volume of trade, NIRSAL yesterday commenced the operational transporation of cattle from Zamfara State to Lagos by rail with the first 15 wagons of 500 cattle that left Gusau, Zamfara State.

    The journey will take 48 hours and will see more cattle being transported from the North to the South under more comfortable conditions, the final stop is at Oko-Oba in Lagos.

    This initiative is under the National Farm to Market Scheme to enable a low cost and efficient transport link between agricultural producers and consumers across the country.

    The scheme is projected to reduce the cost of transporting cattle from the north to the south by over 20 per cent, minimise injury and cattle death in transit and also preserve 100 per cent of their value so that livestock breeders can get good price for their produce at the destination markets.

    Under the scheme, NIRSAL, in line with its mandate to de-risk and incentivise investment into verified impactful projects across the agricultural value chain,  will provide bank guarantees for the financing of critical requirements involved in the movement of the cattle including logistics and  equipment.

    Connect Rail Services Ltd, a bulk freight and logistics service provider, is the first technical partner on this aspect of the  scheme.

    NIRSAL is also making efforts to operationalise other elements of the scheme such as the movement of perishable agric produce such as tomatoes, dairy products and vegetables in refrigerated containers.

    NIRSAL Managing Director, Mr. Abdulhameed Aliyu said the event signaled the beginning of the Livestock Transportation Component of NIRSAL Farm to Market Scheme which aims to link livestock breeders in the north to markets in the south in a safe, cost effective and profitable manner using the rail system.

    He said:  “What we have witnessed today is the culmination of  rigorous and consistent effort to demonstrate that agric in Nigeria can be innovative and business oriented. The transportation component launched today is only the first part.”

  • SEC gives operators October 31 deadline to join trade groups

    SEC gives operators October 31 deadline to join trade groups

    Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has directed capital market operators to register with their trade groups or associations by October 31 as it moves to strengthen the implementation of its new complaints management framework.

    In a circular to the operators, SEC said it would sanction those that fail to comply with the deadline.

    According to the commission, the directive was sequel to the decisions at the just-concluded Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting held in Lagos earlier this month.

    SEC noted that as part of efforts to restore investor confidence in the capital market, it had developed rules on complaints management in February, last year.

    The rules outline a new and more responsive complaint management framework that requires the SEC,Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) and capital market Trade Groups/Associations to establish fair, impartial and objective complaints management policies for the handling of investor complaints. This new framework is expected to significantly improve dispute resolution within the market and ultimately reduce infraction rates as it streamlines the complaints management process.

    “Historically, the SEC had been receiving the overwhelming majority of complaints from investors even when such complaints could be addressed more swiftly at trade group level. In attending to such huge volumes of complaints, the SEC has had to allocate significant resources that could be better utilised in more effective market development and regulation.This informed the need to overhaul the complaints management mechanism in the capital market as encapsulated in the SEC Rules and Regulations which are available on the website,” SEC noted.

    According to the commission, to effectively delegate key complaints management functions to market operators, the SEC recognises the need to strengthen SROs and Industry Trade Groups/Associations to enable them play more prominent roles in the management and resolution of investor complaints.

    It noted that empowering SROs and trade groups to handle and resolve investor complaints is in line with best practice from both emerging and developed markets.

    However, the Commission pointed out that since the new complaints management framework was released by the SEC in February 2015, its implementation has been rather slow due to the inability of a few trade groups to develop their respective complaints management policies.

    The apex capital market regulator stated that a review of the framework’s implementation at the last CMC meeting revealed that a key constraint facing the trade groups is the non-compliance of some market operators who are yet to be registered with their relevant trade association.

  • UK, PwC to boost trade with Nigeria post-Brexit

    To boost trade between the United Kingdom (UK) and Nigeria, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) have launched a report titled: “Seizing the Opportunity: An Economic Assessment of Key Sectors of Opportunity for UK Business in Nigeria”.

    The launch, which was held along with a roundtable discussion at the PwC Nigeria’s office in Lagos, recently, provided opportunity for UK and Nigerian business leaders and the UK Trade and Investment team to interact.

    The report, produced by PwC on the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, highlighted the opportunities that exist in Nigeria for UK businesses and provided guidance for trade and investment in Nigeria.

    In the context of BREXIT – the UK’s recent vote to leave European Union (EU) – the UK Trade Envoy to Nigeria, John Howell, described the report as useful in the UK’s bid to strengthen trade relations with Nigeria and other countries.

    While speaking with journalists at the event, Howell said BREXIT will not reduce the UK’s trade relations with Nigeria, but would rather increase its importance.

    He said: “I don’t think BREXIT will change the trade relationship with Nigeria. I think you’ve got to remember that my appointment as the Prime Minister’s trade envoy pre-dates BREXIT and it shows how important the relation between Nigeria and Britain was even then. So, all BREXIT has done is that it has increased the importance of that relationship. Britain is open for business. It may have left the EU, but it hasn’t left Europe.”

    Howell also said the report was very useful in that it highlighted so much about how trade is done between Nigeria and Britain and it also highlighted the opportunities that are there for the future. “I shall certainly be using it when I get back home to encourage companies to come out and-take advantage of the opportunities,” Howell said.

    The UK Trade Envoy added that he was determined to ensure that the UK becomes Nigeria’s number one trade partner by talking to both British companies and companies in Nigeria about how they can do more business together and making them aware of the opportunities highlighted in the report.

    He also noted that the floating of the naira has made it a lot easier to do business with Nigeria.

    The PwC’s Country Senior Partner, Uyi Akpata, who presented the report, said despite the current state of Nigeria’s economy, its scale, the country’s resource wealth and its strategic geographical location make it favourable for UK exporters and investors.

    Akpata said: “UK businesses are well placed to succeed in Nigeria because of its familiar legal system, strong ties through the Diaspora community, same lingua franca and the perception that UK brands offer high quality.

    “Unfortunately, the UK’s importance in Nigeria has been sliding. Since 2000, the UK has fallen from first to become only the fifth largest non-oil goods exporter to Nigeria behind China, US, India and Germany in 2014. Similarly, the UK’s share of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock in Nigeria has decreased from close to seven per cent to less than two per cent between 2005 and 2014.”

    He added that the UK’s non-oil export and FDI in Nigeria could increase significantly depending on if the Nigerian Government will progress on reforms and enactment of policies on trade openness and also if the UK government will facilitate better cooperation between the two countries.

    The report identified six goods and services exports that will offer UK businesses the greatest potential for growth. These include, machinery and transport equipment; manufactured goods; chemical and related products; telecommunication and information services; transportation and travel; and intellectual property.

    It also identified three sectors that will provide the most promising FDI opportunities for UK businesses. They are technology, media and telecommunication; retail and consumer products; and business and financial services.

  • ‘Slowdown may affect UK-Africa trade’

    Experts have cautioned that an economic slowdown in the United Kingdom( UK) could  reduce the volume of imports from African countries as consumer demand decreases.

    Some have also warned that, given the UK’s role as an entry point for African products into the EU single market, various businesses might need to adjust their export strategy should different rules, standards and relevant regulations emerge as a result of the exit model eventually selected by London.

    However, the UK is not Africa’s biggest trade partner considering that it only represents about five percent of total African exports, according to Harvard University postdoctoral fellow Grieve Chelwa. Some countries and sectors might nonetheless be more impacted than others. Some analysts have said that African economies which could be the most affected are those who depend heavily on the export of some specific commodities.

    The global instability stemming from the referendum vote is another factor that experts fear could negatively impact UK-Africa trade relations.

    “Periods of instability are usually periods that are not conducive to expansion in trade,” Homi Kharas, Deputy Director for global economy and development at The Brookings Institution told media sources.

    Others note that the same uncertainty might also negatively impact investment flows from the UK to the continent.

    “From an African point of view, the immediate aftermath of Brexit has exacerbated problematic trends in international markets which have already hit the continent’s growth prospects,” writes Were.

    However, some commentators tending towards seeing the glass as half-full suggesting that many African economies have already demonstrated the ability to adapt to global economic fluctuations, such as recent downturns in emerging economy trade partners.

  • Nigeria seeks trade parity with China

    The Federal Government is seeking parity in its existing trade relationship with China.

    Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who spoke when the the Vice President, StarTimes Group of China, Ms. Zhao Yueqin visited him in Abuja, said the strategic partnership between the two countries has waxed stronger in various sectors, said the trade volume between the two countries had jumped from $6.9 billion in 2009 to over $14 billion as at last year.

    The minister however stressed the need to correct the trade imbalance between the two countries by encouraging Chinese investors to set up factories in labour-intensive sectors in Nigeria and also canvassed for the abolition of the five per cent tax levied on agricultural products entering China from Nigeria.

    In her remarks earlier, Ms. Yueqin, expressed China’s willingness to assist Nigeria to become digitalised.

  • ‘Access to finance, manufacturing hubs will unlock textile industry’s potentials’

    ‘Access to finance, manufacturing hubs will unlock textile industry’s potentials’

    Improved access to finance, capacity building and creation of a network of manufacturing hubs, constant electricity supply and other factors have been identified as enablers that would unlock the growth potential of Nigeria’s ailing Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) sector.

    This was the view expressed by speakers at the inaugural edition of the Africa Fashion Week Textile and Garment manufacturing conference on Friday, 1 July 2016 in Lagos.
    The theme of the conference which had in attendance policy makers, development finance institutions, bilateral trade institutions, fashion entrepreneurs and manufacturers was “_Making Nigeria the Fashion Hub of Africa_.”

    In his welcome address, Chairman of the conference and President, Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBBC), Mr. Dapo Adelegan, disclosed that the textile industry is the 2nd largest industry in any nation. Proclaiming that the future of the industry in Nigeria is bright, he urged that the conference should be used as a platform to encourage investment in the CTG sector which will ultimately, boost
    the GDP of the country.

    Declaring the conference open, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Aisha Abubakar, said the federal government is fully committed to reviving the CTG sector of the manufacturing industry and would also support all parts of its value chain of which fashion is one.

    This process, she said, is in line with the core economic mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to create jobs.

    The minister outlined some of the steps taken by the federal government in reviving the CTG sector such as the creation of an enabling business environment, the repositioning of government agencies like Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Bank of Industry (BOI), appropriation of funds to the CTG industry and resolution of the issue of multiple taxation.

    “Government is creating an enabling environment by improving the ease of doing business for which a presidential committee driven by the private sector would be set up. SMEDAN industrial training fund and Bank of Industry are being repositioned
    to address the MSMES.
    They are core to the implementation of the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) which is aimed at generating about five million jobs.

    “Funds are being set aside to refinance the CTG sector and address legacy problems including power. Tax incentives and changes in regulations do affect employment. Proposals are being discussed on how the issue of multiple tax can be addressed,” Mrs Abubakar said.

    The minister also announced that the government would soon create Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and garment production hubs and urged members of the fashion industry to take advantage of the project to develop the value chain of the sector.

    “Government is also looking into setting up ICT and garment production hubs which will offer opportunities across the value chain. I would like to implore the fashion industry to look at these areas in the value chain especially currently underdeveloped and look for collaborative ways of moving this forward. This will bring in more people into the industry which has the potential to generate employment,” Mrs Abubakar stated.

    In his keynote address, the Lagos State Commissioner of Finance, Dr. Mustapha Akinkunmi, said the importation of foreign fabrics and clothing which is as a result of Nigerians preference for foreign goods is hampering the growth and development of the textile industry and the fashion value chain. He said this is regrettable in spite of superiority of some local and African apparel such as Adire, Kampala and Ankara to the foreign ones that are being dumped in the country.

    He urged young Nigerians in the fashion industry to take advantage of vocational training, micro-financing and employment trust fund initiatives of the state government to create innovative designs and apparels using local fabrics.
    While decrying the dearth of fashion institutes in the country, he announced the intent of the Lagos State Government to establish centres of excellence for fashion design training at the state owned university and polytechnic.

    Speaking on the need for the conference, Founder, Africa Fashion week Nigeria, Ms. Ronke Ademiluyi said; “After six years of creating opportunities for Nigerian designers to excel on the global stage, we were compelled to commit resources to the development of the local fashion industry value chain. Without a thriving local value chain, we will be unable to translate the runway success of our designers and
    fashion entrepreneurs to job creation and shared prosperity for our nation. Our commitment is to improved access to finance for designers, capacity development programmes and establishment of manufacturing hubs.”

    The Africa Fashion Week Textile and Manufacturing conference is the primary activity of the first day of Africa Fashion Week Nigeria.
    Organised by AFWL Africa Concepts, the conference aims to redefine textile and garment production processes in Nigeria.

  • Trade dispute: workers urge govt to intervene

    Organised labour has urged the Federal Government to prevail upon, Game Discount World Nigeria Limited, to comply with a court judgment that mandated workers to be unionised in its Nigeria offices.

    The firm is a subsidiary of MASS Discounters whose head office is in South Africa.

    The workers, under the auspices of Shop and Distributive Trade Senior Staff Association (SHOPDIS), said despite two judgments from the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) and National Industrial Court (NIC), Abuja, to allow unionism, the management of the company has restrained workers from joining their unions.

    This, according to the association, is an infringement on their rights.

    Speaking with newsmen in Lagos, the General Secretary of SHOPDIS, Comrade Ola Oyegoke, decried the union’s ordeal. He said since 2010 when the association met to give the workers a platform for collective bargaining as a basis for regulating their condition of service, the management had shown that it has no respect for Nigeria’s laws.

    Oyegoke said SHOPDIS, in 2014, got an award over a trade dispute declared against Game management on the non-recognition of the union as a representative of the senior staff of the company who have signed membership authorisation forms, which were forwarded to the management since April 2010.

    “Though the management appealed against the judgment, the NIC in its ruling by Justice Isele in November last year, upheld the IAP award,” Oyegoke said.

    He said upon the NIC judgment in November last year, the union wrote the management of its plan to inaugurate the branch, but Game in a letter from its parent body and signed by Blake Walker, Legal Specialist: Africa Mass Discounters, replied the union that it could not permit the formal inauguration.

    Oyegoke said it was a ploy by the management to continue to enslave its members. He charged the Minister of Labour, Senator Chris Ngige to wade into the matter, as it believes in peaceful resolution rather than confrontation.

  • I trade in stolen phones, claims NURTW chief Elewure

    I trade in stolen phones, claims NURTW chief Elewure

    Rapid Response Squad (RS) operatives have arrested a National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) leader, Kazeem Bamidele, for allegedly buying over 4,256 stolen phones.

    Bamidele aka Elewure, vice chairman of Ajegunle NURTW, reportedly told the RRS that he received an average of 38 “clean” phones weekly from over 52 persons, who specialise in pick pocketing and one-chance operations across the state.

    Bamidele, 42, was arrested after RRS Intelligence team caught two suspected stolen phones users in Kogi State.

    The suspects were tracked to Kogi and arrested in connection with an abduction and robbery in Lagos.

    The team discovered that Elewure sold two BlackBerry Z10 and CAT phones collected from robbery and kidnap victims by the suspects.

    Elewure was traced to his shop at Boundary Market in Ajegunle where he was arrested; five phones were recovered from him.

    Elewure was quoted by RRS as saying: “I have over 52 boys who sell clean stolen mobile phones to me. On the average, I receive 38 ‘clean’ phones in a week. I have been in the business for more than two years.

    “Boundary Market in Ajegunle, where I have office and shop, is where they sell the phones to me and that is where the buyers equally get them. I know they are stolen phones. Nearly every guy in Ajegunle is involved in this kind of runs.

    “I buy Infinix Hot 2 at N10,000 and sell N12,000; Blackberry Z30 at N20,000 and sell at N22,000; Infinix Hot Note at N15,000 and sell at N17,000 and Samsung Galaxy X3 at N11,000 and sell at N14,000. I don’t buy iPhone because of its locking system”.

    “Some of the phones traced to Elewure were that of high profile members of the society as well as celebrities,” RRS said.

    The suspect, the RRS said, had provided information that would lead to the arrest of his ‘boys’, adding that most of the robbers lodge in hotels.

    It was gathered that the RRS have impounded two commercial Danfo buses used for robbery and one chance operations.

    Police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), said investigation was progressing, adding that the case has been transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

  • Nigeria-U.S. trade gets boost

    Nigeria-U.S. trade gets boost

    The United States (US) Agency for International Development’s West Africa Trade and Investment Hub (Trade Hub) have trained coordinators from seven West African countries to assist businesses with the processes and documentation for exporting to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

    Coordinators from AGOA Trade Resource Centers (ATRCs) in Nigeria as well as Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Senegal were trained on trade intelligence, export development, business promotion and trade facilitation for existing and potential exporters.

    Participants also learned best practices across the region and shared experiences in supporting exporters.

    Hosted within local institutions, the ATRCs have assisted over 2,700 businesses seeking to export to the US under AGOA, which waives duties and quotas on thousands of goods made in eligible sub-Saharan African countries.

    Since 2005, USAID has provided grants to build the sustainability of the ATRC network and the host institutions that provide trade-related services to private sector companies.  The grants cover training and the costs of building a database of exporters, further enabling ATRCs to develop exporters’ capacity, market linkages, and sector-specific strategies to boost trade.

    USAID supports greater use of AGOA’s tariff advantages across West Africa. Each ATRC is expected to undertake activities that enhance the export potential of companies seeking to take advantage of AGOA. These activities include developing and providing trade intelligence services through trade and business associations or directly to individual businesses.

    They also include the promotion of trade and export development advisory services by providing hands-on assistance to companies to help them understand market requirements and regulations, packaging/labeling, costing, and finance; providing business promotion services with trade show/fair participation and facilitation of regional and international business linkages as well as providing customs documentation assistance to businesses.

    This support is building a sustainable network of local institutions that can tailor services to the private sector to enhance their capacity to trade regionally and export to international markets.