Заторы в портах Нигерии увеличивают стоимость импорта на 30% и отпугивают транзитные грузы

Chairman of the Shipping Association of Nigeria and Senior Partner at Primera Africa, Boma Alabi, SAN, speaks with ANOZIE EGOLE on how congestion surcharges and other charges are undermining Nigeria’s ambition to become a regional maritime hub. What is the biggest economic factor currently increasing shipping costs in Nigeria, and to what extent does it raise the final prices of imported goods? The single biggest economic bottleneck is port/terminal congestion driven by procedural and logistics inefficiencies rather than quay capacity itself, especially in Lagos (Apapa/Tincan), where the average cargo dwell time is 18–21 days compared to 5–7 days in Ghana and four days in Cotonou. This, of course, translates into higher storage, demurrage, trucking and financing costs. Estimates put Nigeria’s logistics and clearance costs at roughly 30 per cent above West African regional peers, meaning that for many imported consignments, congestion and process delays alone can add 20–30 per cent to the final landed cost, depending on the commodity and financing structure. How much revenue do shipping lines operating in Nigeria generate annually, and what share of this value is retained in the Nigerian economy through taxes, jobs and local services? Global carriers serving Nigeria collectively generate significant revenue annually on Nigeria-linked trades when you aggregate container, bulk and ancillary charges. What stays in Nigeria is mainly taxes and port dues (corporate tax on local entities, Nigerian Ports Authority dues, pilotage, harbour fees). In practice, a large share of freight revenue is booked offshore in carrier headquarters; this is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is just how the industry works. Nigeria has repeatedly sought to reduce its dependence on foreign shipping operators. What is preventing Nigerian-owned shipping companies from capturing a significantly larger share of the country’s maritime trade? Three major constraints stand out: one is capital and scale. The deep-sea container and tanker operations require very high capex and access to long-tenor, dollar-denominated finance. Nigerian operators struggle with both cost of capital and forex access. The Cabotage Fund, which the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency is mandated to collect and disburse, was specifically designed to alleviate this problem, but it has not been successfully deployed so far. Another issue is the regulatory and policy uncertainty. The frequent changes in port charges, customs practices and cabotage implementation weaken investor confidence and make fleet planning difficult. The last is the competitive disadvantage: global carriers offer integrated networks, digital platforms and door-to-door logistics. Nigerian firms often operate as regional or feeder players without comparable global coverage, making it hard to win mainline contracts or large-volume shippers. Until financing, policy stability and logistics integration improve, Nigerian-owned lines will remain marginal in deep-sea trades. How do shipping-related charges paid by Nigerian importers and exporters compare with those incurred by their counterparts in competing West African economies such as Ghana and Ivory Coast? Nigerian importers and exporters typically face higher total shipping-related charges than their counterparts in Ghana and Ivory Coast, not necessarily because base ocean freight is higher, but because port-side and inland costs are structurally elevated. Clearance and logistics costs in Nigeria are about 30 per cent higher than many West African regional peers. So, while a shipper might pay similar base freight to West Africa, the end-to-end bill in Apapa is significantly higher than in Tema or Abidjan. What economic burden do port congestion, delays and prolonged vessel turnaround times impose on Nigerian businesses, and which specific reforms could deliver the quickest reduction in these costs? It goes without saying that port congestion and slow vessel turnaround times result in major economic costs on Nigerian businesses, such as higher operating costs, strain on working capital and a loss of competitiveness against their regional counterparts, which puts us at a particular disadvantage with the inception of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement. To what extent have foreign exchange volatility and limited access to dollars impacted shipping-line operations, freight rates and the prices of imported goods in Nigeria? Foreign exchange volatility and difficulty accessing dollars affect shipping-line operations in exactly the same way they affect all other businesses in Nigeria. It raises the cost of freight and results in volatile landing costs for importers. Our exporters may benefit, and that has led to an increase in export cargo, which is, of course, a welcome development. What are the economic implications of the persistent imbalance between Nigeria’s import and export cargoes, particularly the large number of vessels arriving with imports but departing with little or no export cargo? That had been our historical perspective until recently; it is changing. We have more export cargo now, and we are hopeful that the trend will continue. How much business and foreign exchange could Nigeria be losing because its exporters face difficulties competing effectively on international shipping costs? Our Nigerian exporters are really doing well despite the challenges, but could certainly do better with a level playing field. Nigerian exporters face higher logistics costs and longer processing times; they often lose orders to competitors in Ghana, Ivory Coast or even further afield who can offer lower delivered prices and more reliable transit times. This is another example of our underutilisation of the blue-economy potential because of agency bottlenecks and the difficulty they have with embracing change. Do Nigeria’s current port charges, levies and regulatory fees make the country competitive enough to attract transhipment and regional shipping business, or are they pushing cargo towards neighbouring countries? As mentioned earlier, the total cost of clearing goods is around 30 per cent higher than our West African peers, and dwell times are much longer. Of course, that means the levies and regulatory fees are far too high. Our situation is compounded by war-risk premiums and congestion surcharges, which further raise the cost of calling at our ports. These are the factors that are encouraging Nigerian shippers to route cargo through Tema, Lome, Cotonou or Abidjan for transhipment or regional distribution, meaning Nigeria loses potential hub business even though it has the largest market in West Africa. What measurable economic gains have shipping lines experienced from recent reforms and investments in Nigeria’s ports, and where has government spending failed to deliver the expected improvements in efficiency? On the reforms front, we are still at the early stages and suffering teething problems with B’Odogwu and the National Single Window Project. However, investments such as Lekki Deep Seaport have produced measurable gains. With the government’s focus on developing the blue economy, how much investment and employment could Nigeria’s shipping sector realistically attract over the next five years if the right policies are put in place? With the right policies, stable regulation, integrated logistics planning, and targeted incentives, the shipping sector could realistically mobilise several billions of dollars in new investment over five years, especially in terminals, inland dry ports, coastal shipping, and logistics technology. In so doing, the sector can create tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in stevedoring, trucking, warehousing, ship agency, repair yards and maritime services. How significant is the burden of multiple charges and levies imposed on shipping lines by various government agencies, and to what extent are these costs ultimately passed on to consumers? Realistically speaking, all of these costs are ultimately passed down through the value chain first to importers and exporters, then to wholesalers and retailers, and finally to consumers in the form of higher prices. In sectors with thin margins, even a few percentage points of extra charges can significantly raise shelf prices or make exports uncompetitive. So, it is a serious problem that must be addressed if the government is sincere about fighting taxation rather than continuing the practice of hidden taxation via these agencies. What policy reforms are needed to position Nigeria as a true West African maritime hub and attract cargo currently routed through neighbouring countries? For us to become a true regional hub and capture cargo now routed through neighbouring ports, we would need to deliver end-to-end logistics reform, not just port upgrades: integrated rail and road corridors, dry ports, and streamlined border processes, and offer competitive and transparent charges. If you could recommend only three urgent economic reforms for the shipping sector to President Bola Tinubu’s administration, what would they be, and what measurable impact would you expect each to have on Nigeria’s economy? If I had to propose only three urgent economic reforms for the shipping sector, I would say to Mr President, that is very generous; I only need two urgent economic reforms from you, and everything else will follow. First, rationalisation of port charges and agency levies, with a single transparent tariff framework to bring Nigeria’s effective port and clearance costs in line with Ghana, Ivory Coast, and the Republic of Benin. Integrated hinterland logistics plan anchored on rail, which is far more cost-effective than trucking. Increase rail’s share of inland freight from about 1–2 per cent to at least 15–20 per cent over five years. This will lower trucking congestion and road-maintenance backlog in addition to reducing inland freight costs and transit times by double-digit percentages. In conclusion, I would say that, generally speaking, we are moving in the right direction, particularly in terms of export trade and the volume of export cargo that is now leaving the country. However, in order for us to be competitive, the government has to make a concerted effort to reduce the tariffs and fees, which are built into a number of the legislation that brings agencies into being. For example, NIMASA has a statutory fee of three per cent of freight, which it levies on all freight charges. Similarly, the Nigerian Ports Authority has a statutory percentage that it collects; both of these agencies collect these fees and levies in US dollars rather than naira. And in so doing, continue to dollarise the economy, which is not in our best interest. We now have the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Authority, which we hope, with the passing of the Act that elevates the Nigeria Shippers’ Council to the economic regulator of the ports, that there will be some cohesion, and these agencies will come together to ensure that whatever they are doing is streamlined and competitive in comparison to the ports around us, because remember, we are competing with other ports in West Africa; it’s not just Nigeria. And already, Nigerian cargo is going to these other, more competitive ports and driving the revenue and infrastructure build-up, when this should be coming to Nigeria, both the revenue and the requisite infrastructure. Also, I have to say that in recent times, the FX situation has been more stable and more predictable, and more accessible. So that is a good development. And we hope it stays that way. Beyond that, it is right that the government has focused on the shipping and maritime sector by creating the marine and blue economy. Because really, this sector could be the driver of the economy. The potential in this sector is far greater than our oil and gas. If it’s properly harnessed, it goes beyond shipping. It goes beyond shipping to fishing, to protecting our territorial waters from overfishing by foreign vessels without permits; there are so many other treasures in the ocean that we have yet to explore. So, we really need to focus on all of that. In order to drive the economy and eventually raise the living standards of our citizens, because that is really what the government ought to be doing, and the objective of every well-meaning Nigerian.