Thursday, January 22, 2015
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
FG To Review Rish Import Quota
To ensure that established importers across the country are given import allocations that reflect their operational capacity, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Adesina Akinwumi, has disclosed intentions to review the fish import quota as an avenue to cut down the increment on the price of fish across the country.
According to Adesina, the review is aimed at ensuring that established importers, with considerable investments in cold storage facilities and well established supply chains across the country are given import allocations that better reflect their operational capacity.
Following a study carried out by a committee of the fisheries sub-sector headed by Professor Doyin Salami of the Lagos Business School, it was discovered that the dichotomy in fish price hinges on the neglect of big importers and a subsequent allocation of import quota to individuals and companies with little or no track record in fish importation. Bearing this in mind, Adesina noted that the ministry would work to clear any distortion in the market, announcing an increase in fish import quota for the third quarter of the year in order to address anomalies discovered by the committee.
Envisaging a stretch in the period of importation to close the gap in supply, stakeholders were reminded that the plan of the government is to reduce the import bill and encourage investment in aquaculture.
Adesina charged the Federal Department of Fisheries to support efforts at helping the companies fall in line with reform objectives of the government, which have far reaching benefits for local fish production.
Calling for increased productivity in aquaculture by large scale importers as an avenue to reduce the bill on import, which is the government’s priority, the Minister affirmed that Nigeria as a country has what is needed in terms of inland and territorial water bodies in addition to a huge local consumer market to boost fish production.
http://shipsandports.com.ng/fg-to-review-fish-import-quota/
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