According to the Nigeria Shippers’ Council, over 120 containers and 96 vehicles worth over N1 billion have been abandoned at Tin-Can Island Port and other bonded terminals in Lagos.
It was said that importers are finding it difficult to get loans to fund their business due to the devaluation of the naira.
A source said the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) is not making things easy for the importers by not getting terminal operators and shipping firms to reduce their charges.
The Vice Chairman, Association, Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Tin Can Chapter, Mrs Ada Akpunonu, said importers abandoned their goods for two main reasons which are that the ports are the most expensive in West Africa; and the unstable exchange rate.
Banks, she said, have stopped lending to importers because of the fall of the naira and the increase in the prices of goods.
“There is no doubt that activities at the ports have reduced because of the exchange rate.. The terminal operators and the shipping companies are also not helping matters. Our port is the most expensive in the sub-region. Most importers are not making profit and that is why they have decided to abandon their goods at the ports.
‘’At the Tin-Can port where I am the Vice Chairman, congestion has started to build-up. The Shippers’ Council has to something ditto the Federal Government. Many goods are trapped at the port; there is bound to be congestion, most of the importers borrowed money from the banks; before they collect their Bill of Lading, they must make the payment, but what is happening now is that, with the exchange rate, they are finding it difficult to get the balance and pay back to collect the papers and clear their cargoes.
“Many importers with Bill of Lading are also finding it difficult to pay Customs duties because of the value of the naira and that is why goods worth billion of naira are trapped at the ports.
“As it is now, there is no cargo that does not go into demurrage in Nigeria because the shipping companies start collecting money immediately the cargo arrives at the port.” she said.
She said importers pay N199 as official rate to a dollar for Customs’ transactions.
A Customs officer said many goods were trapped at the ports because of the new exchange rate and the fast-approaching general election.
He said: “We are aware that many importers are finding it difficult to pay their duties, but there is nothing we can do because that is the revenue we are asked to collect by the government. Once an importer brings an item into our port, he must pay the necessary duty unless he or she was given waiver before the importation commences.
“Except he pays the amount required by law, the only alternative opened to him is to abandon the goods. And that is why we are having so many containers, trucks and vehicles in the ports that have not been cleared by the importers. But my advice to them is to look for money, pay the duty and move their vehicles out of the ports before they become over-time cargo and confiscated by the government.
“Some of the importers abandoned their goods because they believe that after the election the value of the naira will go up, but they have forgotten that the price of oil has gone down at the international market, which is affecting the value of the naira and prices of goods imported into the country,” the officer said.
An importer, who pleaded for anonymity, said he took a loan to import some of the items that are trapped at the port.
“The majority of us in the importation business take loans from the banks to remain in the trade. Once there is a delay in bringing the goods out of the port, our investment would suffer and we would not be able to pay staff salary talk less of employing new ones.
“Don’t forget that before we can move the goods out of the port now or later, we pay a lot of money to the shipping company, the terminal operators and the truck drivers.
“The delay we are facing was caused by the government policy to devalue the naira and not calling the terminal operators and shipping companies to order,” he said.