The National Trade Facilitation Committee is crossed with Nigerian exporters for not doing enough to add value to their products.
NTFC’s Secretary, Abdullahi Usman, made this known on Tuesday while delivering a lecture at a sensitisation workshop on ‘Export Facilitation Measures, Practices and Standards’.
He said that exporters needed to do more in the production and packaging of their products to better standards.
However, Usman said, to ensure that goods leaving Nigeria meet international standards, the costs of imported raw materials ought to be made favourable, and sometimes duty-free.
“The relevant agencies of government should see themselves as facilitators of trade and not driving for revenue at all times,” he said.
He hinted that Nigeria recorded 18 per cent increase in non-oil export in recent years.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, corroborated him that the country saw improvement in the volume and value of its non-oil trade in the international market.
He attributed the feat to the reforms in the sector by the Federal Government to promote non-oil trade.
This led to higher demand for Nigerian products in the international market, Awolowo said.
“We are educating them on the reforms of the Federal Government over the years, to ensure they close their knowledge gap and compete favourably with other countries.
“Nigeria has expanded aspects of its export activities, which has made our products competitive, and the exporters are happy that they are becoming more efficient,” he added.
