Expert says Africa is ripe to process raw/crude materials into finished products

• Urges FG to remove all restrictions to boost exports.

An industrial expert and former Director General of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), John Isemede has said that Africa is ripe to process raw/crude in finished products with value addition to run the chain with the rest of the world.

Isemede stated this in an exclusive chat with Gentechnews, adding that in order to actualize this; we must remove all the restrictions, all the roadblocks and make or reduce our borders to bus stops.

According to him, looking at our 2022 Budget and Africa on the one hand and on the African Continental Free Trade Area ( AfCFTA) project on the other hand, you find that it is not Africa and France alone as African produce has been at the rock bottom prices from the days of slave trade to date.

He lamented that one can hardly see African countries or neighbours on the same page even after the ratification of the agreement by Nations after the Niamey event in 2019.

“Where is the low hanging fruits or centric market developed from the African Union(AU) days from 1963 – not still there or seen) as intra trade is still between 15-20% in 2021 after a year of the kickoff,” he queried.

Isemede opined that African produce to the European Union (EU) or United Kingdom (UK) , France, the Far East and the Americans are without value addition, stressing that the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) instead of assisting and looking for markets are fighting, duplicating issues and often on revenue as well as selling Certificates that often end in our ports as rejections galore.

He asked rhetorically: “Who can share the National Assembly (NASS) meeting with the MDAs on food safety today? The question – on the AfCFTA programme, when are we going to break down all the trade barriers using the Organised Private Sector (OPS) with a clear target/Roadmap/ agreements on ground as our tools/ weapons?

He pointed out that there are products, large markets of 1.25m consumers in the Continent or import thinking population and experts in Africa, yet there are gaps operating in Silos after the signing ceremony in Kigali in 2018.

Isemede noted that the answer is that there is no information and trade data because we are often waiting for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank publications.

He asked where our local, Desk/ Foreign market research is, if any?

He expressed his worry about when the nation would be going to hit the ground running and think less of loans, aid from donors and support from those who are out for just one purpose  of exploitation and subjugation .

He bemoaned why one of the MDAs is holding the nation back on product/ safety because all they hear a lot from meetings are things that are not their mandate – like registration, export approvals, setting standards for foreign buyers without such in the sales contract/ agreements.

He asked whether it is the duty of an MDA to determine foreign standards, quality and quantity using our local parameters for buyers and now making it to appear that all the 196 Countries across the globe with different trade policies are now one simple document.

“The importers abroad are the buyers and not servants to any MDA here,” he said.

He cautioned the MDA to maintain and run on their lanes because a buyer asking for Cocoa butter cannot be forced to take Cocoa Beans because that what the MDA can inspect.

He revealed that these MDAs in time of rejections after approvals/ payments and Certificate run under and abandon the exporters alone at turbulent times of rejections without sanctions from Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the NASS.

He declared that the CBN needed to be call to order because the apex bank has a book, notice to exporters of 1997, “therefore checking exporters alone and by just explorers is injustice to our members.”

Isemede announced that his New Year message to all exporters is that any rejection in 2022 after export (good faith) business and certificates from them, the exporters should use the papers to seek redress in our local or foreign courts.

“Our MDAs should not be above our players and foreign buyers, they are to facilitate and not police us. They are not players or teachers along the broken chain caused by lack of synergy/ lack of coordination, communication and cooperation,” he warned.

Commenting on the budget, he said there is nowhere our national export strategic plans/ target to exporters appeared in the 2022 budget, but we can see loans, debt servicing; etc and none on national export inflows or what to expect from the latest, the AfCFTA gains as envisaged at the signing ceremony.

Isemede pointed out that the Trade or the World Trade Organisation (WTO) laws is simple- that a foreign buyer appoints his Inspection Agents and by a local Government Agent as we cannot Clean Report of findings on our exports.

He also lampooned that with all the noise, we have no standard Labs or Labs accredited by world bodies even on our imports and we are talking of more complex issues – exporting to others.

The industry expert announced that this is time to tell the MDAs to work as a family and not in silos, or superiority because that is what is killing our business as well as making us uncompetitive even at home.