In light of the federal government’s recent duty-free policy announcement, the Association of Freight Forwarding Practitioners of Nigeria (AFFPON) has called for the establishment of mechanisms to monitor how importers and traders are utilizing the policy.
The aim is to ensure that these beneficiaries pass on the savings to consumers, making essential commodities more affordable.
AFFPON believes that a price monitoring system will help Nigerians fully experience the benefits of the new duty-free policy.
In a statement made after his interview with BBC Hausa on Thursday morning, AFFPON President Miftahu Ya’u Bachirawa praised the policy, which exempts essential food items, raw materials for food production, agricultural inputs, fertilizers, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, poultry feed, flour, paddy rice, and grains from duties and VAT for six months.
He described the initiative as a well-considered measure that could alleviate the current economic hardship, which has sparked nationwide protests, and lower retail prices for these commodities.
“The problems we as freight forwarders are facing are not more than those faced by the generalities of Nigerians, which are economic hardships brought about by inflation and other factors in the country”.