The Nigerian Ports Authority has disclosed that the exported twenty-foot equivalent units through the Lagos Port Complex in Apapa, Lagos, increased by 40 per cent from 50,000 in 2022 to 70,000 in 2023.
The Port Manager of the LPC, Mr Charles Okaga, stated this in an interview in the March edition of the Nigerian Ports Authority Today, a quarterly publication of NPA.
He remarked that the port was better positioned to support international trade within and outside Africa, adding that the management of the NPA was collaborating with sister agencies and, private sector operators to ensure the port met user needs.
“When you have a facility that encourages this type of trade facilitation principle, it is bound to have a direct impact on the overall trade volume of the country. As we speak, in 2022, for instance, we had a total of about 50,000 TEUs of export containers. Whereas in 2023, we had over 70,000 and that is definitely an increase in the volume of exports that is leaving the country through LPC alone,” the port manager declared.
He added that the figure showed a 20,000 increase achieved through the enabling business environment created in partnership with the Nigeria Customs Service and other government agencies and stakeholders.
According to Okaga, export is a very critical element of the national economy, particularly with the government’s agenda of diversification of the economy to non-oil export, stressing that Nigeria’s largest port complex is ready to participate and contribute to the African Continental Free Trade Area.
He added that the management of NPA had put measures in place to remove all difficulties associated with import and export through the port.
The port manager explained further that the port utilised intermodal means to convey goods either by road, rail, or barges and serves as a one-stop area of transit for foreign trade.
He stated that the agency encouraged the movement of export cargo through all the modes of transportation.
“For 2022, we had 38,000 by road; in 2023 we had 55,000 by road. In 2022, by rail, we had about 5,000, and in 2023 we had 8,000 by rail. In 2022, we had 10,000 barges and 8,309 barges in 2023,” he explained.
He stated that these had spurred the growth that the agency recorded, expressing hope that it would do better this year.
“Export is a very critical element of the national economy, particularly with the government’s agenda of diversification of the economy to the non-all export. The nature of export we are talking about this time around is to grow the volume of locally produced goods and services that are exported through the ports,” Okaga maintained.
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