Border closure may affect Lagos Trade Fair ― LCCI

The Lagos International Trade Fair, which is the largest trade exhibition in West and Central Africa is likely to be affected by the lingering border closure in Nigeria.

Director-General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Muda Yusuf who stated this in an interview with newsmen at the weekend, said a lot of traders and exhibitors wishing to participate in the fair are likely to be affected by the partial closure.

According to him, “traders and exhibitors wishing to come to Lagos for the fair from other West African countries may not be able to come except government decides to open the borders fully before December 2, 2019, when the fair will begin.”

He added that the LCCI has started talks with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on the need to give consideration to exhibitors coming to the fair.

”We have started talks with the Nigeria Customs Service and Office of the National Security Adviser for them to provide an opportunity for exhibitors coming to the fair from other West African countries.

“We are getting a favourable response from the Customs though we are yet to get an approval, we hope they will consider it for us.

“Exhibitors from other West African countries coming to the fair usually come by road and will go through the borders.

”The loss will be huge if it is not considered because, this year, we made provision for a special hall for African countries. Some of them have made payments in anticipation to participate in the fair,” the LCCI DG added.

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He had earlier noted that the border closure came with benefits and losses as there are upsides and downsides.

“Reports indicate a drastic reduction in smuggling of rice, poultry products and sugar. The smuggling of petroleum products outside the country to neighbouring countries has also declined considerably. We note and appreciate these outcomes.

“But it is important to reckon with the costs, supply chain disruptions and loses that businesses and individuals have suffered as a result of the closure.

“Corporates, large number of informal sector players and individuals doing legitimate businesses across the borders have become victims of the border closure. This poses a dilemma. The government means well, but there are many innocent casualties.

“As we celebrate the benefits, we should also count the costs. Jobs have been lost, prices have skyrocketed, legitimate exports to the subregion have been halted, intermediate products for some manufacturers have been cut off, some multinationals companies have been de-linked from their sister companies in the subregion.

“The economies of border communities have been paralysed with consequences for unemployment and poverty. Over 90% of Nigeria’s trade with the West African sub-region is by road.

“We export manufactured products as well as agricultural products – detergents, toothpaste, plastic products, steel products, kitchen utensils, grains, ginger, onions, among others.

“We also undertake many exports to the sub-region. These are sources of livelihood for Nigerians doing legitimate businesses. There are also thousands of transporters who make a living from these legitimate trading activities.

“These are costs that would run into hundreds of billions of Naira. We must weigh the costs and benefits. Most often we do not count the cost of government policy on the citizens and businesses.

“We should not underestimate the contribution of trade and commerce to the economy of the country. Distributive trade sector accounts for about 15% of the nations GDP, which is estimated at 20 trillion naira.

“Traders play a major role in the value chain of the real sector activities in the economy. The trade sector is perhaps the largest employer of labour in the Nigerian economy,” he explained.