Nigeria must tackle long standing trade and logistics challenges before committing massive funding to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Credit Facility, the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has said.
The News Chronicle reports that the association warned that although AfCFTA offers huge opportunities for economic growth and regional trade, local businesses may struggle to benefit if key obstacles remain unresolved. APFFLON President Frank Ogunojemite noted that manufacturers, exporters, freight forwarders and small businesses continue to face rising production costs, poor infrastructure, unstable power supply, foreign exchange difficulties and burdensome port charges.
The group stressed that access to funding alone cannot solve the challenges affecting Nigeria’s competitiveness in regional markets. It called on the Federal Government to prioritise port reforms, improve transport infrastructure, simplify export procedures and accelerate the implementation of the National Single Window system.
APFFLON also urged authorities to provide tax incentives, reduce production costs and improve access to foreign exchange for businesses. According to the association, failure to address these issues could leave Nigeria as a major consumer of goods from other African countries instead of becoming a leading exporter under the AfCFTA framework.
