Hundreds of perishable export cargoes are currently trapped at the Lilypond Truck Park, Apapa operated by the Truck Transit Park Nigeria Limited, LEADERSHIP can report.
LEADERSHIP investigations have shown that the exported cargoes had been trapped at the park for some months as they could not access the port to export their product aboard.
Exporters, truck owners and freight forwarders have attributed failure of the electronic call-up system managed by the Truck Transit Park Nigeria Limited and APM Terminal, Apapa as reason why the export cargoes are trapped at the truck park.
They said while export is going on seamlessly at Tin-Can Island Port and Onne port, Port Harcourt, it take about one month to move perishable export cargoes out of TTP into APM Terminal, Apapa.
They, however, called on the government to do something about TTP handling of the electronic call-up system saying this has cost the government foreign exchange that would have been earned.
Confirming the development to LEADERSHIP, secretary general, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Mr Sotonye Anga, said the ETO system needed to be fine-tuned so as to flawlessly allow cargoes especially export have access to Apapa seaport.
Anga said that delay in shipment to the seaport is economic loss to the country as well as the exporters who may have gone to bank for loans.
His words, “We need to address this problem and ask TTP to deliver efficiency to exporters in the country. The bottlenecks including the call up system as a whole needed to be look at and addressed so that all the barriers hindering operation can be taken care of for export cargoes to easily and flawlessly access the terminals without any hindrances.”Delay of export is injurious to the economy as it will lead to damage of cargo and this will lead to loss to the exporter, huge economic loss to the country and export proceeds to be generated won’t come in. If these exporters go to bank to borrow capital, the banks won’t listen to excuses that there are delays at the port as they needed to be paid back and lack of payment will lead to default and when properties are placed as surety it became a problem.”
He further disclosed that something drastic needed to be done to avert the economic loss saying the inefficiency at the TTP and APM Terminals is costing the nation huge potential.”Whenever there is delay in shipment, there is economic loss that is attached to it so, there shouldn’t be reason for delay, the call-up system should be efficient, they should be delivered fast to the terminal but, if this continues, we will lose our leadership to other African countries. It is only in Nigeria we are having this type of delay as other neighbouring countries around us have efficient ports. Apapa port is not efficient and it will continue to bring losses for exporters and the country and we can’t allow this to continue,” he said.
Corroborating NCAN’s secretary assertion, an export cargo forwarder, Chief Kolade Lanre, said his company has over 20 trucks laden with export cargoes yet to gain access to the seaport from TTP, Lilypond.
Lanre said exporters are abandoning Apapa port for Tin-Can Island and Onne Port due to easy access to terminals at those sides.
He said, “The issue is between TTP and APM Terminal as they are not getting it right, compared to Tin-Can Island where export are moving freely. In Tin-Can, under two days your export cargo will be in the terminal but in Apapa, when containers get to Lilypond, you can’t predict when it will come out.
“I think they are giving empty containers priority at APM Terminal than export so, for the past three weeks now, we have been suffering, I have almost 20 trucks right now at Lilypond and they are promising us hopefully by this week, it will get better and get to the terminal.”
“Exporters are leaving Apapa port to Tin-Can Island or Portharcourt because these two ports have no technical issues. Export cargoes are moving inside terminals in Portharcourt because you spend less time but Portharcourt challenege is that its expensive but, we have no choice because if we don’t do that, we keep losing contract
Also speaking, the executive secretary, Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM), Nigeria, Udofia Ofonasaha, asked the government to designate a terminal mainly for export saying that will help reduce the bureaucracy in exportation.
He also said the trapped cargoes may be as a result of poor or improper documentation by exporters who he said venture into exportation without necessary information.
His words, “The fault is not only coming from terminal operators and government agencies but also from the exporters. What I mean is that some people just dabble into exportation without requisite knowledge. It is a collective responsibility that we should sit-up and ask why these containers are their and what are the measures we put in place so that it won’t happen again?
He continued, “we are very much aware that containers are trapped, we know that some of the agencies have issues. It is unfortunate but, we want the government to look at the issue of dedicated export bay to solve most of this issue we have,” Udofia said.
On the part of truck owners, over hundreds perishable export cargoes are trapped at the Lilypond Truck Park due to the alleged inefficiency of the Truck Transit Park Nigeria Limited, the provider of electronic call-up sysyem to Apapa seaport.
The truck owners under the aegis of Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Associations (COMTUA) over the weekend also lamented that the ETO platform has not reduced extortion on the port access road.
Speaking in an exclusive chat with LEADERSHIP, COMTUA’s President, Com. Adeyinka Aroyewun said perishable export cargoes destined for the Apapa seaports have been trapped for days inside the Lilypond truck park.
Aroyewun stated that the inability to move the export cargoes out of the Lilypond terminal has made it impossible for the country to earn foreign exchange from the cargoes.
He said, “at the transit park, we have export goods, perishable goods for export staying 30 days in the Lilypond terminal and eto has led to serious loss of job for our members.
“You see our members inside the park as their jobs have been taken away by foreigners who now use tag at expensive rate so, extortion is on the increase and this is caused by complete breakdown of law and order within the axis.
“Government is not in charge of security on the port access road and everyday they spring up extorting our members and we have written special letter to the Chief Security Officer if the state but, nothing has been done, in view of this, we are embarking on a protest, withdrawing our service and adopting litigation so that things will be done properly.”
“Failure of eto is responsible for export staying 30 days and the implications on members is that they are losing revenue, exporters losing money and the nation is losing foreign exchange,” he said.
A former vice chairman, National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Abdulhai Inua Mohammed also corroborated Aroyewun’s submission saying the management of TTP should give export cargoes in the park priority.
Abdulai said though, some of the export have documentation challenges but, a lot still needed to be done to give export free access to the seaport on the port corridor.
He said, “the government has said it wanted to designate Lilypond as export terminal but, eto have to facilitate export laden trucks access to freely access the port but at the same time export have to go with some documentation, Customs have to clear and if customs didn’t clear, export can’t go.
“There are are lot of issues within the corridor, we want TTP management to pay more attention to so that thy can gain free access to the port,” Abdulhai a chieftain of NARTO said.
However, when contacted, the chief operating officer, Truck Transit Park Nigeria Limited, Temidayo Adeboye, said export laden trucks only spend between three to four days in the park.
Adeboye, said no trapped containers in their terminal but, transporters are responsible for the export trucks not leaving the terminal because they wanted Terminal Delivery Order (TDO), to move cargo out of the port.
He said, “no export cargo trapped in the terminal rather, what we have is first in and first out in terms of trucks. When you take export cargo in there, the first one that comes in is the first to leave and we have different batches for perishables and normal export and, we pass them accordingly and when you come, you will see that trucks don’t even stay more than three to four days even as we are trying to reduce that to 24 hours.
“Transporters themselves want to do return business so, they purposely did not leave the terminal because they don’t have return business to take out of the port. there is no problem with ETO rather, it’s the transporters that are causing the challenge,” he said.
