The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) as part of its efforts to increase the export of Made-in Nigerian products has commissioned an Export Trade House (ETH) in China.
This was disclosed by the Executive Director of NEPC, Ezra Yakusak, in a statement signed by the Head, Corporate Communications Ndubueze Okeke on Thursday.
Yakusak during the commissioning of the ETH revealed that the project is targeted at improving sustainable trade inflows between Nigeria and China while increasing the share of Nigerian products in target markets.
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According to Yakusak “We have extended an invitation to key financial institutions in Nigeria namely – Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) among other commercial banks to leverage on the opportunities offered by the ETH.
“The ETH is targeted at improving sustainable trade inflows between Nigeria and China, increasing the share of Nigerian products in target markets as well as increasing foreign exchange inflows into the economy among others.
“With the opening of the China ETH, the NEPC has now launched and operationalized a total of four ETHS which are located in Cairo the Egypt capital, Lomé in Togo, and Nairobi in Kenya, with China the fourth,” he said.
NEPC boss also revealed that the establishment of the ETH is a collaborative effort under a Public-Private-Partnership arrangement with Zeenab Foods Limited.
He said “The Council is in partnership with Zeenab Foods Limited and has lined up several activities and programs, meetings with business leaders and government officials as well as factory visits to end users of some of the Nigerian commodities to be traded. One of which is the sesame seeds.”
Yakusak also noted that the NEPC was appointed as a competent authority in Nigeria for the General Administration of Chinese Customs (GACC) of the People’s Republic of China.
The GACC which is a new clearance system introduced by the Customs Department of China requires all overseas food manufacturers, processors, and storage facilities to register under the system to ensure compliance with Chinese import policies, he noted.
To ensure that Nigerian goods meet the requirements, Yakusak said that the NEPC has registered 34 companies and eleven different products under the scheme.
“These products are Sorghum/millet, Sesame seed, Soya beans, dried split Ginger, Cocoa beans, Cashew nuts, dried cassava chips, and Hibiscus flowers among others.”
He, therefore, implored Chinese companies to maximize the opportunities in the Nigerian economy by establishing factories that will produce value-added products for export to China and the global market.
The Ambassador of Nigeria to China, Baba Jidda, during the launch said that the ETH is a strategic tool that will address the challenge of dwindling revenue from oil given that the world is moving away from oil to renewable energy.
“The launch of the Nigerian ETH is indeed a great foundation to strengthen and sustain the bilateral relationship between both countries,” he added.