Mixed reactions trail border closure
On August 20th, the federal government had announced its intention to close the country’s land borders in order to put a stop to the smuggling of products, especially par boiled rice, into the country in order to encourage and develop the local rice industry. “Too much rice, too much fake fertiliser is still coming across the Republic of Benin borders into this country in spite of the Memorandum of Understanding we have with them.
However, with the closure of the borders, especially the Seme and Idi-Iroko borders, prices of products have skyrocketed. A bag of foreign par boiled rice which was selling for N15,000 now sells for between N18,500-N20,000. A kilo of frozen chicken sells for N1,500 while frozen turkey sells for N1,600 as against N900 and N1,200.
Mrs. Joke Akinwumi, who sells second hand clothing at Supa, said she used to buy directly from Cotonou but since the closure, she now patronises the dealers at The Arena at a very high cost. How are those dealers getting their wares? the reporter asked. “By Direct,’’ Akinwumi said, explaining it’s a term only understood by traders. Throwing more light, she explained that they book their market in advance with Cotonou agents and settle custom officials very well.
“Is it only through Seme border that Nigerian traders import things? the reporter ventured. “No, we also import through Apapa Wharf but it is more expensive and the processes longer.” This represents a huge reduction when compared to about 805,765 MT recorded in 2015. By November 2017, the figure reduced to 23,192 MT and between January and November 2018, the figure had crashed to 6,277 MT.
According to the Thai Import statistics, from 805,765 MT in 2015, Benin Republic has seen import figures rise to 1,650,237 MT in 2017 and 1,487,188 MT between January and November 2018.
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