Apapa port generates N30.1b in August as terminal records drop in volume by 29%

DESPITE the dwindling price of crude oil in the international market and exclusion of some items from foreign exchange transactions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Apapa Area 1 Command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generated N30.1billion revenue in the month of August, surpassing its monthly average of N23 billion.

This development is coming on the heels of calls by economists and other financial experts on the Federal Government to harness other sources of revenue, especially in the maritime sector.

Besides revenue generation, they described the maritime sector as a viable avenue through which the government can create numerous jobs for Nigerians within and outside the country on a sustainable basis.

Details of statistics on revenue generation at Apapa Port obtained by The Guardian yesterday revealed that total collection so far made for the year indicated that the August figure was second to that of March which was N32.3 billion.

Meanwhile, volume at APM Terminals, operator of the Apapa Container Terminal Port, dropped by 29 per cent this year when compared to 2014.

The company experienced the lowest dip in April “maybe as a result of reluctance to import during the elections.”

However, importers blamed the reluctance to import on rising inflation as a result of devaluation of the naira, lower oil prices and CBN policy on import.

A source that lamented the situation said: “The current expectation is that this trend of lower volume compared to last year will continue for the rest of the year. Traditionally, the second half of the year has higher volumes than the first. It remains to be seen if this trend will be repeated this year.”

A further analysis of operations indicates that import volume measured in TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) has been on decline.  In July 2014, the terminal recorded 31,280 TEUs while it processed 25,658 this year.