Exporters Decry Shipment Delays Over CBN Policy

The Organised Private Sector Exporters Association (OPEXA) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to urgently address the delays in shipments being faced by non-oil exporters since October when the bank enforced a new regulation on electronic processing of Nigeria Export Proceeds (NXP) Form on Trade Monitoring System (TRMS).

OPEXA is the sectoral association representing the interests of the non-oil exporters in the country.

CBN had in a recent circular dated October 6, 2020, introduced the trade monitoring system.

The CBN procedure stipulates that shipping companies are required to access the TRMS portal to generate the NXP document for capturing on the Bill of Lading (B/L).

The Executive Secretary of OPEXA, Mr Paul Olarewaju, in a statement said the Organised Private Sector (OPS) welcomed reform to streamline export logistics and support all efforts to generate transparency in procedures, but that there should be consultations.

“There is a long queue in uploading the data. As agricultural commodities form the bulk of the Nigerian non-oil exporters, the exporters fear widespread cancellation of orders due to delays.

“Unfortunately, this is happening when we are in the midst of a pandemic and Nigeria needs forex,’’ Olarewaju lamented.

OPEXA executive secretary said implementation of the trade monitoring system requires proper coordination among implementing agencies to stop the export delay.

“We seek CBN’s urgent intervention to call a stakeholders’ meeting to discuss the issue and find the way forward.”