A Lagos-based agricultural commodities exchange company has given kudos to the federal government on the recent decision to suspend import duties on some food items to address the hardship in the country. The Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange, LCFE, through its managing director and chief executive officer, Akin Akeredolu-Ale, has commended the Federal Government gave the commendation recently. It also lauded the government and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the recent directive, mandating companies to channel the importation of the basic food items through commodities exchanges.
Akeredolu-Ale said the directive, which is expected to enhance price discovery, reduce inflationary pressures, and boost food security for the nation, would provide at least 75 percent of basic food imported items into the country.
He said the LCFE is ready and eager to play a pivotal role in facilitating seamless transactions and contributing to the overall success of this initiative while pledging its support and cooperation for this initiative.
“We are already working closely with regulatory bodies and other stakeholders in the value chain to ensure seamless implementation. We have infrastructure that will guarantee the smooth implementation of this policy. At the basic level, Commodities trading ensures that food products are efficiently distributed across the country by matching supply with demand.
“This helps to standardise quality, stabilise prices, reduce volatility, and make food affordable for consumers.”, Akeredolu -Ale added.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer, of Mega Equities, Sam Onukwue, urged the government to extend the policy to the exportation of all food items to address forex scarcity in Nigeria adding that It signifies the government’s determination towards the success of its food security programme by ensuring that scarce forex for imports are properly utilised and well accounted for.
In the same vain the Chief Operating Officer, of GTI Group, Kehinde Hassan applauded the timely policy and said, “To further boost confidence in this policy, the government should collaborate with the key stakeholders in the ecosystem by developing a policy framework, rules, regulations and sanctions for erring stakeholders. There is a need for an enabling environment from the government for this policy to stand the test of time.”
Subsequently, the Group Managing Director, Parthian Partners, Olusheye Olusoga, advocated the need to encourage farmers to increase their output, noting that the government’s decision to import and waive some charges on imports is targeted at alleviating pressures on the citizenry in the short term.
He said, “To boost the supply of the commodities and reduction in prices, efforts should be made to encourage the farmers to continue to grow their produce as the population of over 200m cannot survive on importation.”
