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Nigeria to ease export trade procedures: official

Xinhua, February 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

Nigeria will collaborate with the United Nations Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) to streamline processes and procedures for export trade, an official said Thursday.

The collaboration followed recent successes recorded in the country's quest to ease time spent on doing businesses, Olusegun Awolowo, Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) told reporters in Abuja, the nation's capital.

Awolowo said this was part of the efforts by NEPC to create better enabling business environment by simplifying the national and international business transaction.

"We are more interested in exports and we are looking at finally getting together and implementing the single window facilities," he added.

The official told reporters that UN/CEFACT' s mission is to improve the ability of business, trade and administrative organizations, from developed, developing and transitional economies, to exchange products and relevant services effectively.

He said the country became the 107th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to ratify the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in Davos.

He said a recent report by the World Bank showed Nigeria's marginal improvement from 160th to 149th out of the 190 countries surveyed globally.

According to him, the gains from UN/CEFACT's role will be considerably beneficial to small businesses because the costs of compliance with various trade-related procedures and processes are high.

Earlier, Lance Thompson, the Chairman, UN/CEFACT, said some of the problems obstructing international trade transaction were faulty interpretations of data and excessive use of paper document.

Thompson said others were numerous data exchange protocols and containerization of goods.

He said the single window initiative would bring about faster services at the border for both imports and exports, as well as ensure correct revenue collection.

Thompson said it would also guarantee less labor, less tasks and would minimize corruption.

He said the single window option would create room for transparency in governance, better public service and modernization through e-legislation. Endit