Key highlights
- NAFDAC in talks with the UK Department of Business and Trade to build a bilateral relations in which Nigerian products that are exported would be of high quality having been registered with NAFDAC.
- Business owners who plan to go into the processed food export business urged to contact NAFDAC to maximize the opportunity.
- UK Government reduced the tariffs of 90 per cent of goods that Nigeria exports and has also provided a preferential trading scheme.
Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) revealed that it is working on a bilateral deal with the UK Government which would enable easier exports of Nigerian processed products registered with NAFDAC.
This was disclosed in a statement by NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant, Mr Olusayo Akintola, citing the agency’s Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, at a meeting in Lagos.
The UK Government, earlier this year revealed that it plans to reduce tariffs on duty-free trade in goods exported from Nigeria could help the country to grow its exports by 2030.
Bilateral Relations
The NAFDAC Chief speaking with representatives of the Nano Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NMSMEs) urged themto always focus on one product that is well accepted by the consumers rather than manufacturing many products at the same time where none would be accepted.
She added that they should also consider the possibility of exporting such goods, noting that exportation is tied to quality, adding that the agency was working with UK Department of Business and Trade, the statement read:
- “NAFDAC was on ground to work with NMSMEs to take its trading to a higher level, adding that they must not only think of what to consume but what could be exported.
- “The agency was already talking with the UK Department of Business and Trade to build a bilateral relations in which Nigerian products that are exported to that country would be of high quality having been registered with NAFDAC.
Rejected exports
The NAFDAC Chief added that she regrets the fact developed nations rejected food exports from Nigeria at the point of entry due to bad quality, adding that if they had been subjected to NAFDAC scrutinythe issue would have been sorted, she added:
- “Let us think of the future or where we can take our products to, Nigerians abroad are concerned about what we are doing in terms of foods that we are exporting.
- “Some of our people cannot live without eating eba, (cassava flour), pounded yam or amala (yam flour). Some people cannot cook without palm oil. There are a lot of opportunities for us to tap into.”
She added NAFACD would continue to do testing of foods and others things to make sure that whatever was put out there first was not going to be harmful.
The director-general assured NMSME of NAFDAC’s continued support of NAFDAC, emphasizing that staff of the agency were being trained not to compromise and to hold customers with high esteem based on quality management system.
NAFDAC also noted that business owners who plan to export food products from Nigeria, should work with the agency, as they would provide them with necessary guidance and support.
Backstory
The UK Government announced in January that it reduced tariffs on duty-free trade in goods exported from Nigeria.
This was disclosed by Mr Ben Llewellyn-Jones, Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria at the launch of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) in Lagos.
He stated the move which will take effect from April 2023 will boost Nigeria’s non-oil export trade as trade volume between UK and Nigeria hits 2.2 billion pounds in 2022.
Llewellyn-Jones revealed the move to cut tariffs from Nigerian exports will reduce import costs to the sum of £750 million per year for the British consumer, he added:
- “The UK Government has reduced the tariffs of 90 per cent of goods that Nigeria would export to our country and has also provided a preferential trading scheme for a range of other exports that the country might have.
- “We have reached out to small and large businesses in different parts of the country and this is intended to help exporters and other people in the trading business to make the United Kingdom an export destination.
