Apapa Customs facilitate N41.6bn exports in Q1 as revenue hit N159.5bn

The Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it facilitated exportation of goods worth N41.6 billion in the first quarter of 2021 via the Apapa Port despite the gridlock rocking the port access road.

The command said it also generated N159.5 billion from importation of raw materials and finished goods between January and March 2021.

This was disclosed by the command’s Area Controller, Comptroller Yusuf Malanta Ibrahim, during a press conference in Lagos.

He said the exports included manufactured products such as soaps, textiles, noodles, and agricultural products like cashew nuts, hibiscus, sesame seeds and other mineral resources.

Ibrahim said the total tonnage of the said export goods stood at 116 million tonnes with FOB value of $110 million.

The area controller added that the importation represented 44.8 per cent increment in duty collection when compared to the over N110 billion generated the same period in 2020.

In the area of anti-smuggling, Ibrahim said 28 containers of unregistered pharmaceutical drugs; used cloths and foreign parboiled rice with Duty Paid Value of N1.9 billion were seized in the same period under review.

According to him, the contrabands were in contravention of sections 46, 47, and 161 of the Customs Excise and Management Act (CEMA), CAP C45, LFN 2004.

He, however, noted that the difference recorded was made possible because of robust stakeholders’ engagement; officers resoluteness in discharging their duties and an increased level of compliance in the trader zone.