2nd March, 2012
Port users have been advised to undergo intensive human capital development training to understand the current documentation procedures used in trade facilitation internationally.
Similarly, they have been told to abide by the culture of compliance within trade organisations as a way to achieve smooth import and export procedures.
Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Joseph Odumodu, at the Certified Import Compliance Management (CICM) programme in Lagos recently said importers and freight forwarders should build a culture of national trade compliance at the nation’s seaports.
Odumodu, who was the Special Guest Speaker at the forum, explained that emphasis should be placed on the culture of compliance rather than a compliance policy to drive trade facilitation.
According to him, the programme provided an opportunity to strengthen import, procurement, shipping and supply chain management functions of participating organisations by providing them with certified compliance training on emerging import practices and trends
The SON director general, who delivered a paper titled: Building a National Trade Compliance Culture, said the agency has moved to ensure port users conform with the national trade compliance culture, with the introduction of the SONCAP (Standard Organisation of Nigeria Comformity Assessment Programme) to all international trade.
He said the agency has henceforth standardised all the regulated products through the SONCAP scheme to check adulterated products entering into the country.
Odumodu noted that the SONCAP scheme allows the agency to perform offshore inspection activity and verification of products for compliance.
Earlier in his opening address, the Chief Executive Officer, Multimix Academy, Obiora Madu, said that the operational details involved in importing/exporting has continued to be complex considering the vagaries of trade as knowledge and understanding of affective documentations are of prime essence.
He said documentation issues are becoming major challenges affecting goods clearance at the ports.
“In an increasingly shrinking global socio-economic environment, no nation can even afford to exist in a vacuum. What operates in one country affects to unimaginable extents what happens in some others especially when aggregated against international trade.