Nigeria is determined to become the foremost cargo destination in Africa, as a team of professionals led by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has visited the leading air cargo airports in the continent to benchmark their services. The team, which included the Aviacargo Roadmap Committee, toured the facilities and engaged with stakeholders in Ethiopia and Kenya, the current top two countries in the air cargo business in Africa. Nigeria ranks fifth despite its huge economy, production capacity, and population.
The benchmarking visits, done in partnership with Ethiopian Airlines Cargo and Kenya Airport Authority (KAA), enabled the Nigerian officials to learn from the best practices and challenges of the other airports. The team inspected the equipment, terminals, and transit sheds in both countries and the cold chain, pharma, perishable, and dry goods sections. They also discussed legal issues concerning airports as free trade zones and the proliferation and attendant charges by agencies at the airports.
The FAAN team was led by the Director of Commercial and Business Development, Olumyiwa Femi-Pearse, who said that FAAN had set up the Aviacargo Roadmap Committee to design a plan that would lift Nigeria to the first position in the shortest possible time. He said that the committee had identified establishing an aviacargo village at the airport as one of the quick wins in addressing the rejection of Nigeria’s aviacargo exports and increasing its exports and earnings.
The aviacargo village, which had its foundation-laying ceremony in August 2023, will be a one-stop center to address most challenges militating against massive aviacargo exports in Nigeria. It will have processing, packaging, certification laboratory services, and data gathering facilities for the traceability of products and produces, among others.
The National Coordinator of the Aviacargo Roadmap Committee, Mr. Ikechi Uko, described the project as a giant step for Nigeria. He said the committee had been working with various stakeholders, including farmers, exporters, airlines, regulators, and government agencies, to create a conducive environment for aviacargo business in Nigeria.
He also said that Nigeria had a lot of potential to tap into the global aviacargo market, which was worth over $100 billion annually. He cited examples of some Nigerian products with high demand abroad, such as ginger, sesame seeds, cashew nuts, yam, and plantain. He said that with proper packaging and certification, these products could fetch Nigeria more revenue and create more jobs.
He expressed optimism that Nigeria would soon surpass its competitors in Africa and become a major player in the global aviacargo industry. He said that FAAN and the committee were committed to implementing the recommendations from the benchmarking visits and improving the quality and quantity of Nigeria’s aviacargo exports.
Source:Tribune Online
