The action of
the Federal Government is part of its efforts to protect the sugar industry
which is governed by the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP).
The Federal Government has banned the importation of refined
sugar and its derivatives from the country’s Free Trade Zones (FTZs).
The action of the Federal Government is part of its efforts to
protect the sugar industry which is governed by the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan
(NSMP).
The ban is contained in a letter by the Nigerian Ports
Authority (NPA), Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, Lagos to one of the terminal
operators in the Lagos Port Complex as a result of a directive from the Federal
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
According to a report from Thisday,
the letter from NPA dated April 8, 2021, and titled ‘RE: Prohibition of
Importation of Sugar from the Free Trade Zones into the Nigerian Customs
Territory,’ was signed by Mr Buba Jubril for the Port Manager, Lagos Port
Complex.
What the NPA letter is saying
The letter from NPA to the terminal port operator states, “We have for reference a letter
from Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment ref: HMIT1/GEN/
CORR/008/ VOL. I, dated February 15, 2021, on the above subject.
It has recently come to our notice that due to the recent location
of a Sugar Refinery in a Free Trade Zone, Refined Sugar is being imported into
the Nigerian Customs Territory under the concession granted to enterprises in
the Free Trade Zones to export 100 per cent of their output to the Nigerian
Customs Territory, and this is real potential threat to the goals of the
Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP).
The Nigeria Sugar Industry is governed by the Nigerian Sugar
Master Plan (NSMP). The NSMP provides a framework for motivating investment in
the local production of Refined Sugar by securing the Nigerian Sugar market for
investors in the Backward Integration Program (BIP). It does this by providing
import sugar allocations for Raw Sugar to recognised investors based on the
performance on the BIP and guided recognition of their installed refining
capacity.
Your Terminal is hereby informed by this letter that, in order to
protect our national interest and ensure the returns in the Federal
Government’s investment in the NSMP are realised, and in line with extant laws
and regulations of the Federal Government of Nigeria, importation of Refined
Sugar and all other sugar derivatives from the Free Trade Zones into the
Nigerian Customs Territory is here prohibited by the Honourable Minister,
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.”
The letter also added that the terminal operator is expected to
ensure strict compliance with the directive.
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