- The Nigerian-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce , NBCCI, has decried the absence of direct flights between Nigeria and Brazil,saying it is the major hindrance to trade between both countries.
- The President of NBCCI, Emmanuel Ibru, who spoke over the weekend at a meeting of the Chamber in Lagos, said for Nigeria to tap into the Brazilian government’s new policy, there must be direct flights into the country as it was 25 years ago.
Ibru said: “Currently, it takes about 14 hours to travel to Brazil as a result of taking connecting flights instead of the six hours’ direct flight would have made possible and this is not good for trade and investment.”
“Taking connecting flight is expensive for both business and tourism; Dubai is eight hours,yet people still go there because there’s a direct flight and Brazil has a lot to offer Nigeria, culturally, too, as direct flights will opened up trade between the countries.”
- According to him, the balance of trade between the countries is skewed in favor of Nigeria, adding that Nigeria was the main exporter of oil to Brazil, which was $7billion per year.
