Foreign Exchange: APM Terminals Extends Barge Capacity For Non-oil Export

To boost Nigeria foreign exchange through export, APM Terminals Apapa, over the weekend, announced that it has extended its barge capacity to accommodate more volumes of non-oil exports.

Speaking at the second edition of its Exporters Forum, held at the terminal, in Lagos, the chief commercial officer of APM Terminals Nigeria, Caroline Aubert-Adewuyi, emphasised the value of feedback from exporters.

LEADERSHIP reports that let stakeholders such as representatives from shipping lines, barge operators, and key exporters were present at the forum where decisions on how to improve Nigeria exports were made.

However, the APM Terminals commercial manager, highlighted APM Terminals’ service improvements from the previous forum, including expanded barge slots, a new booking app, and enhanced rail services for smoother logistics.

“This forum is an opportunity to hear feedback from our customers to continue building products that will help the exporters grow their business and grow Nigeria exports in the future,” she said.

Also speaking, the chief financial officer of APM Terminals Nigeria, Courage Obadagbonyi, highlighted the importance of non-oil exports in driving foreign exchange, job creation, and reducing inflation, particularly in light of fluctuating global oil prices.

“APM Terminals Apapa is committed to advancing the Federal Government’s economic diversification efforts by promoting non-oil exports. As a result of our efforts in this regard, we have recorded a 25 per cent increase of non-oil exports in throughput, handling 51,000 TEUs in the first half of 2024 compared to 47,000 TEUs in the same period of 2023,” Obadagbonyi said.

He stressed the need for further investments in transport infrastructure, streamlined export procedures, and higher-quality products to increase Nigeria’s non-oil export potential.

APM Terminals Apapa’s head of Operations, Riyaz Melekolangath, said that an extended gate access and dedicated export lanes have been created to cut turnaround times for export containers.

Industry leaders who attended the event praised APM Terminals for its responsive export processes and focus on reducing carbon emissions through rail transport, positioning the terminal as a key player in Nigeria’s export growth.

“What they are doing is to promote the heart of the business because export is sine qua non to the growth of a country. We need exports to balance our trade. We don’t want vessels coming and going without taking any cargo. We need to promote and enhance our capacity in export.

“APM Terminals have started taking our concerns into consideration, goods are now getting to the terminals on time and barging processes have become seamless, “President of the Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN), Olabunmi Olumekun, said.

The managing director of Bueno Logistics Limited, Jetson Nwankwo, while commending APM Terminals for promoting the use of rail line for evacuation of cargo from the port.

“It has been proven that the carbon emission of trains is less than the carbon emission of trucks. If you calculate it by using 10 dollars per pound of carbon, you will discover that APM Terminals can have an award of carbon credit that will be used to offset other expenses.

If APM Terminals get some carbon credits, they can lower the rates they give on demurrage, storage or handling charges as the case may be.”