Stakeholders in the stock fish and seafood import and export industry in Nigeria have identified access to grants for off-takers in the value chain, lack of access to foreign exchange (forex) and lack of awareness on the requirement for import and export as challenges impeding the growth of the sector.
The stakeholders, who included the Norwegian Seafood Council, representative from Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Federal Department of Fisheries, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, importers and exporters, and members of the organized private sector (OPS) in the fisheries sector, also stressed the need to address these challenges to grow the sector.
In a communiqué at the end of forum at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, which was declared open by the Director, Africa, Norwegian Seafood, Mr. Trond Kostveit, the forum recommended that with the increasing population of Nigeria projected at 400million by 2050, there was the urgent need to fill the gap caused by the shortfall in the supply of fish, as this could be bridged by encouraging stock fish import, which would not affect local production.
Mr. Kostveit argued that stock fish is not in competition with local fish production in the country, adding that the fish head is the only source of protein for so many indigent families across the country. According to him, delisting stock fish and fish head from the list of items prohibited from accessing forex from the CBN official window will make the product available at affordable prices in the country.
He said sourcing forex from the parallel market to import the product makes it prohibitive beyond the reach of the majority of Nigerians.