The Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, Pius Akutah, has said that abandoned or delayed export cargoes at the nation’s seaports have generated adverse economic implications on the exporters, their banks and the nation’s economy.
Speaking during his visit to APM Terminal over trapped and abandoned export containers, Akutah lamented that some of the exporters may have borrowed funds from commercial banks in double digits to finance their business, noting that losing such investment may affect or even put such business owners out of business.
He also explained that the commercial banks involved in such transactions are not spared of the losses, noting further that all these losses ultimately take toll on the nation’s economy.
The Shippers Council boss decried the time wasted at the port by export cargo, especially at a time when the federal government is looking at diversifying the economy’s export base.
On his part, the Government Relations manager at APM Terminals, Kayode Daniel, said that 1,940 export containers had been in Apapa Port between zero and 10 days; 1,524 containers had stayed between 11 and 20 days; about 757 containers have stayed between 21 and 30 days while 616 have stayed between 31days and over two years, which classified them as abandoned export containers.
He said APM Terminals has been pushing for the evacuation of the trapped export containers and had received a commitment from shipping lines including Maersk, CMA CGA and Zim to move about 2,752 export containers out of the port.
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