Group Managing Director, Gum Arabic Company Nigeria Ltd (GACON), Mrs Adaku Chidume-Okoro, has commended the federal government’s role in sustaining and promoting the non-oil sector through tax exceptions and expansion grants.
Chidume-Okoro said this during the commemoration of the company’s 25th anniversary in Lagos.
She said that the government, over the years, had deliberately made provision for certain incentives like tax exemptions and giving expansion grants to non-oil exporters.
She said this was highly commendable as she also called on the government to ensure that the support was upscaled in the coming years.
“Government knows that it is the non-oil export industry that can sustain the economy. This is the reason for supporting the industry.
“Government has gone out of their way to support non-oil exporters by giving incentives to encourage us so that we can ship more.
“All our export proceeds are tax exempted. Also, there is a government expansion grant whereby the government pays us a certain percentage of our annual turnover as incentives to encourage us to invest more in the sector, the more we export, the more the balance of trade,” she said.
She said the main challenge confronting non-oil exporters had to do with bad roads which usually results in delayed supply of goods at appropriate places.
Chidume-Okoro emphasised the need for continued government support to enhance the growth and resilience of the non-oil sector.
She advised intending exporters to remain focused, consistent and unshaken in the face of challenges if they must record remarkable success as non-oil exporters.
In 2010, Chidume-Okoro was honoured with a presidential award as “Woman Exporter of the Year 2010” (Non-oil Exports).
Chidume-Okoro said that GACON specialises in the export of various agricultural commodities, herbs and botanicals including fresh ginger and dried split ginger, dried split turmeric, dried hibiscus flower, gum arabic of all grades, hot chili pepper, cassia tora seeds, dried kola nuts and prosopis juliflora. (NAN)
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