Apapa records 25 per cent rise in non-oil export volume for H1 2024

APM Terminals, Apapa has recorded a 25 per cent increase of non-oil export cargoes in the first half of 2024 as against the volume in the same period in 2023.
The terminal said the export figures for non-oil cargo in 2024 stood at 51,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent units (TEUs), a rise of 25 per cent year-on-year (YOY) when compared with 47,000 TEUs for H1 2023.

The Terminal Manager, APM Terminals Apapa, Steen Knudsen, described non-oil export cargo as an integral part of the terminal’s business.

“Over the last four years, we have witnessed a steady growth in non-oil export cargo. In 2020, export volumes stood at 53,000 TEUs, in 2021 it rose to 63,000 TEUs and in 2022, 71,000 TEUs. The greatest rise in exports was recorded in 2023, when volumes rose to 94,000 TEUs, an increase of 32 per cent.”

To continue to drive this growth in non-oil exports, Knudsen added that the terminal would be hosting its second exporters’ forum, come September 19th. He said the exporters’ forum is the terminal’s way of supporting the Federal Government’s non-oil export drive.

According to him, the forum is a brainstorming session where stakeholders rub minds with the various exporting associations in the country on how to best resolve their challenges to facilitate more efficient movement of exports into the ports.

“More exports out of Nigeria translate to lower shipping costs since the vessels don’t go back empty. We will continue to partner with our customers and all relevant government agencies in the port to encourage Nigerian exporters in their business,” he said.

The Head of Commercial, APM Terminals Apapa, Kayode Daniels, said the feedback from the exporters on the maiden forum launched in June, was on how the terminal could collaborate to streamline its processes to improve export volumes. He said with agro-export produce, time is of the essence as prolonged storage in containers could ruin the quality of the cargo before it gets to its destination.