Nigeria’s trade with other African countries grew by 14 percent in the first half of the year, according to the Nigeria Customs Service. A Bloomberg report quoted the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, as saying trade with the continent rose by 600 billion naira to reach 4.82 trillion naira in the six months to June.
Mr Adeniyi said the growth reflected stronger regional trade momentum and a significant rise in exports to members of the Economic Community of West African States. He noted that Nigeria’s role as a hub for intra continental trade and regional value chains continued to expand.
The Customs chief said the Federal Government had been streamlining customs processes and improving transport links with neighbouring countries to reduce long standing bottlenecks. He added that these efforts were part of broader measures to deepen trade ties across the continent.
Also Read: 10 States Account for Half of Telecoms Sector GDP in 2023 says NBS
Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Jumoke Oduwole said Nigeria had taken concrete steps toward implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement. These include tariff concessions and the opening of a dedicated air cargo corridor to East Africa, which she said had cut export costs by about 75 percent.
Leave feedback about this
You must be logged in to post a comment.