Economy
THE Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Mrs Doris Uzoka-Anite, has said that the Federal Government would establishment the Nigerian Trade Intelligence Office to complement efforts of the Nigerian Customs Services (NCS) in trade facilitation.
Uzoka-Anite made the disclosure in a speech delivered at the Launching of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Time Release Study (TRS) held in Lagos on Thursday.
She said that the establishment of the Nigerian Trade Intelligence Office initiative would enhance trade and ease of doing business in Nigeria.
“The Trade Intelligence Office will be the national coordinator and focal point for all trade related data and information in Nigeria.
“This office is set to leverage world class technology such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and Big-Data to provide Nigeria with the ability to predict global market trends.
“This will enhance our local and global trading capacities thereby significantly enhancing trade and the ease of doing business in Nigeria, in line with President’s Bola Tinubu’s eight Point Agenda.
“Nigeria possesses some trade data, collated and held by agencies such as the Nigerian Customs Service, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics.
” It is also fair to state that, a lack of coordination amongst MDAs is hampering the availability of critical trade data for both policy makers and investors, who require such trade information to
enhance trade and promote investment in Nigeria.
“This lack of coordination continues to affect the implementation of technological infrastructure for the administration of a comprehensive import/export supervision scheme.
“This in turn continues to drastically increase the potential for revenue leakages through incorrect classifications, under valuations, incorrect computations, forex infractions, under declaration, and incorrect origins amongst many other infractions along the trade value chain,Uzoka-Anite said.
She said that the ministry aspiration for the Trade Intelligence Office was to create a fully automated Centre of Excellence to employ top-tier talent and collaborate with world-class institutions for the purpose of gathering and analyzing trade intelligence.
The Minister said that the tracking technology would monitor cargoes, containers, and vehicles swiftly, without disrupting the flow of legitimate trade.
She said that the tracking technology would provide Nigeria with unparalleled, reliable import and export information and data, essential for effective planning and ease of doing business.
Uzoka-Anite said that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment has also launched a One Stop Export Promotion Shop, titled the Domestic Export Warehouse initiative (DEW) to support the activities of the Nigerian Custom Service in trade facilitation.
” DEW is a one-stop facility for the storage of products, packaging, pre-shipment inspection, and the fumigation of goods in preparation for their transportation to the ports. In line with our quest to enhance trade and the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
“This this one-stop facility will reduce the challenges Exporters face in moving their goods from the hinterlands to the ports.
“We are confident that this approach will reduce the challenges exporters face in going through the shipping process as well as improving the time it takes to get export ready goods to the
port, which is in line with this
Administration’s commitment, to eliminate all bottlenecks hindering business,”Uzoka-Anite said.
She said that the DEW operators and one Aggregation Centre approved, would encouraged businesses to make use of these opportunities to reduce the time it takes to ship their goods.
Uzoka-Anite said that The Time Release Study, as well as the Trade Intelligence Office, and DEW were fantastic initiatives geared towards enhancing trade and the ease of doing business in Nigeria.(NAN).
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-February 09, 2024 @ 11:45 GMT|
Tags: Mrs Doris Uzoka-Anite
