More than N5 trillion non-oil export cargoes were ferried out of the country in the fourth quarter of last year.
The goods were shipped out of Lagos ports and formed part of the total export goods valued at about N6 trillion.
Customs sources said some of the goods included cashew nuts, cocoa, soaps, textiles, noodles, sesame seeds, ginger, palm kernel, tiger nuts, hibiscus flower, zircon sand and other mineral resources that are valuable at the international market.
A source said 1,100 ships with over 30 million tonnes called at the port during the period.
Also, the statistics by the Foreign Trade Statistics (FTS) explained the bulk of export transactions was conducted through Lagos Port, 93.9 per cent of total exports. It was followed by Port Harcourt Port, which recorded N145.7billion or 4.6 per cent, Tin Can Island Port, N12.9 billion and Calabar Port, N844. 7 million
It also noted that water transport accounted for N3.18 trillion or 99.42 per cent of total exports, while air transport accounted for N15.7 billion or 0.49 per cent.
Also, road transport accounted for N2.8billion or 0.09 per cent.
On imports, FTI noted that water transport accounted for N5.3 trillion or 86 per cent of the value of total imports, while air transport accounted for goods valued at N788.6 billion or 13 per cent.
It added that Tin Can Island Port accounted for N1.03 trillion or 17.4 per cent of goods ferried by ships, while Port Harcourt handled N613.5billion or 10.35per cent, Kirikiri Lighter Terminal, N89.15billion; Warri Port, N72.44 billion and Port Harcourt I, N148.7billion.
Also, data by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) revealed that it processed exports valued at N41.55 billion in Q1 2021.These included soaps, textiles, noodles and agricultural products such as cashew nuts, hibiscus, sesame seeds and other mineral resources.
Also, at Onne Port, customs processed 207,749 metric tonnes of cargoes with free on board value of $70.84 million comprising cash crops.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), however, indicated that volumes of cargoes handled at the seaports dropped last year to 78.4 million metric tonnes last year from 80.2 million metric tonnes recorded in 2019, representing a decline of 2.24 per cent or 1.8 million tonnes.
It added that the ports recorded a decline in ship traffic, noting that total of 3,972 ships called in 2020 as against 4,251 in 2019. The drop was attributed the drop to the COVID-19 pandemic, which ravaged the global economy.
“In year 2020, the nation’s busiest port, Apapa Port received 632,148 Twenty Equivalent Units (TEUs) of container traffic compared to 668,672 TEUs received in 2019. For the nation’s second busiest port, Tin Can Island Port, 650,365 TEUs of containers arrived at the port in 2020 compared to 820,942 TEUs of containers in 2019. For Onne port, 266,109 TEUs of containers arrived in 2020 compared to 247,528 TEUs in 2019. In Rivers port, 91,971 TEUs of containers arrived in 2020 compared to 71,020 TEUs in 2019.
“At Calabar port, 1,561TEUs of containers arrived in 2020 compared to 174 in 2019. Delta port suffered a dip in container traffic in 2020 with 1,224 TEUs compared to the 6,827 TEUs it recorded in 2019. In total, the number of container traffic that came to Nigerian ports was 1,643,378 TEUs compared to the 1,815,163 TEUs received in 2019,” the NPA report stated.
Also, the NPA explained that 1,127 ships called Tin Can Port in 2020, while 1,311 vessels called in 2019.
All the ports received 3,972 ships with a Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) of 125.13million compared to the 4,251 ships that called in 2019 with a gross tonnage of 138.57million.
– The Nation