Vehicle imports into Nigeria fell sharply by 60.4 percent year-on-year to 10,991 in the first half of 2024, reflecting the naira’s depreciation and general economic challenges. This data was reported during the Nigerian Port Consultative Council (NPCC) quarterly meeting, showing a significant drop from 28,024 units in 2023.
The number of ships calling at Nigeria’s seaports also decreased by 4.3 percent year-on-year to 251 in H1’24 from 275 in H1’23. Despite fewer vessel calls, the gross tonnage of ships increased by 6.9 percent to 32.614 million metric tons in H1’24 from 30.504 million metric tons in H1’23.
Cargo throughput, excluding crude oil, rose by 16.1 percent to 21.186 million metric tons from 18.234 million metric tons in 2023. Inward cargo traffic reached 13.563 million metric tons, up by 10.5 percent, while outward cargo traffic was 7.623 million metric tons, representing a 27.7 percent increase.
Container traffic increased by 2.3 percent to 398,447 TEUs, with import containers accounting for 3.4 percent of the total and export containers showing a slight decrease. The average turn-around time for vessels improved to 4.6 days, partly due to the efficient operations at Lekki Deep Sea Port.
(Vanguard)