President Muhammadu Buhari after several pressure finally appended his signed on the African Continents Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) but the question remains, how prepared is the Nigeria poultry industry to take advantage of this, John Oba, questioned
The Agreement
The African Continents Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) an initiative of the African Union mean to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments, and thus pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Customs Union.
It will also expand intra-African trade through better harmonisation and coordination of trade liberalisation and facilitation and instruments across the RECs and across Africa in general. The AfCFTA is also expected to enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level through exploitation of opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources.
The agreement will bring together all 55 member states of the African Union covering a market of more than 1.2 billion people, including a growing middle class, and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$3.4 trillion. In terms of numbers of participating countries, the AfCFTA will be the world’s largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization. Estimates from the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) suggest that the AfCFTA has the potential both to boost intra-African trade by 52.3% by eliminating import duties, and to double this trade if non-tariff barriers are also reduced.
Hence countries across Africa are already justling on how to take maximum advantage of the agreement while country like Nigeria that has over years suffered the negative effects of smuggling from neighbouring countries that have no factories but are major corridors where foreign good are dumped delayed its signing of the agreement so that certain conditions can be reached.
Problem of smuggling
One of the worst hit section in Nigeria that the problem of smuggling affected most after rich is the poultry sector. Statistic as at 2017 has it that 1.3 tonnes of poultry meat was smuggled into Nigeria.
At a time, it was estimated that Nigeria spends about N600billion yearly on smuggled frozen foods with grave danger to consumers, handlers and environment. On several occasion men of the Nigerian Custom Service could be seen destroying hundreds of tons of smuggled poultry products worth hundreds of millions, yet the perpetrators of this dastardly act persisted until recently when the Custom management efforts is leading to reduced smuggling.
Speaking at a press conference after the association’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, the National President, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) Elder Ezekiel Ibrahim, appreciated the efforts of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in curtailing the activities of smugglers of frozen poultry products but urges the Nigeria Custom to intensify the anti-smuggling activities across the borders in the country.
“PAN urges the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to stop the ambiguity in the classification of Hs Codes for all imported poultry production raw materials and equipment,” he said.
Commending the efforts of the Nigeria Custom, PAN Director General, Dr. Onalo Akpa, said Custom’s efforts has led to increase of the capacity utilisation of most broiler producers in Nigeria in the last few months.
“They have done so much the capacity utilisation of most of the broiler meat capacity in the last five months has increased to 60% and we know that by the time Custom come out to clamp down completely on smugglers activities, we will be able to general more jobs. So we implore the Nigeria Custom Service to put in more efforts and we are ready to give the intelligence report on some of those involve in this smuggling activities.
“We are already having foreign direct investment in the sector and that has increased recently, but now what we want the government to do is to build the capacity internally displaced people to be able to take eggs and also implore the states participating in the school feeding programme to add eggs as compulsory in the meals. If this is done, the capacity of poultry production will increase more and the opportunities will increase for every other persons. So we want to be involve in various policies of the government as it concerns the sector.
AfCFTA and Nigeria poultry industry
With President Muhammadu Buhari signing of the AfCFTA, there are fears that this may give leverage to smugglers of poultry products to legalise their nefarious business at the detriment of the sector. But the National President, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) Elder Ezekiel Ibrahim has stated that the agreement would not affect the sector negatively.
Ezekiel said the sector is ready to take advantage of the agreement but that more work needed to be done to ensure that agreement is not screwed against Nigeria.
“We want to appreciate the President, because it took him about two years to sign, it was because of the input that we gave him, and the concerns raised, he delayed and consulted widely, but Nigeria will not be affected negatively.
Also Akpa explained that the sector will work on empowering Nigerians in the sector to produce more and take advantage of the agreement.
“We have done much, the poultry sector has become the most capitalise sector in the agriculture sector. We are in a position today where can say we are self sufficient in production of poultry products, just give us little support we will fill the market with our products.
“Though there are some challenges, it is because of this that the NEC of the association met yesterday to discuss and we are working to gather now to ensure that we did not only meet Nigeria demand but that we also export to other countries in West Africa.”
He said Nigeria has been self sufficient in egg production in the last l5 years. According to him, in the last five years the annual egg production capacity of Nigeria has increased tremendously to about 20 billion eggs annually. Hence Nigeria is the highest egg producing nation in the whole of Africa.
“We are self sufficient in egg production and we are already to produce beyond our national demand and export to other Africa Countries.”
He said the association call for the government to include egg per day in the meals of the student, prison, soldiers and internally displaced person is to boost egg production.
Explaining further, Akpa said “part of President Buhari’s delay in signing the agreement was because of the opposition those of us in the industry and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) raised and over these period the has been a lot of engagements by the president with various stakeholders, and some of the clauses that were completely antagonistic were removed as part of the stakeholders engagement, and part of our demand now is that we want to get from the government the final copy of the agreement signed by the president.
“Part of what is being discussed at this moment that has not be rectified is the issue of source of origin. Because poultry products can be brought from Europe to Benin Republic or to Niger like it is being done now and repackage and brought to Nigeria. We are prepared but we are going to look at the signed agreement clause by clause to ensure that these products will not be brought to be dumped on Nigeria.
“There are opportunities in the agreement, we will go beyond the shores of this countries because in terms of creating wealth, Nigeria is better than other countries in the sub region. We will ensure that our people produce and export to other countries. So it is going to be survival of the fittest,” he said.
Demands
Ibrahim reading the statement after the NEC, said because of the importance of the poultry industry to the socio economic development of the country in terms of Gross Domestic Product, employment generation, and food security, the stakeholders agreed to work together for the progress and unity of the industry.
“NEC cbserved that there have been increase in poultry investments in the country, and subsequently production has increased. Following from this, PAN implore the Federal Government to incorporate Egg and Chicken into the School Feeding Programme of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS), Prison Services, Armed Forces and Police and support by the National Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).
” NEC commends the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the various Intervention funds at single digit interest rate extended to Agriculture. However, PAN noted that the medium and small scale poultry farmers are yet to enjoy same. NEC implores the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to consider this category of poultry farmers.
“NEC implores the Government through the Joint Tax Board to eliminate all kinds of multiple taxation and VAT on poultry raw materials and products since they are food,” he demanded.
He said the poultry industry with continue to grow the economy for national food security and self-sufficiency in line with the objectives of the Government
