Member of the Nigeria-Vietnam Business Association, Mr Sunday Anjorin, has said that fruit and vegetable exporters are facing challenges shipping their fresh produce abroad. This is due to a lack of standard packaging materials and a certification process, which subsequently hinders Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from accessing international fruit markets. Exports also face problems with quality.
New standards emerging on efficient packaging materials for foreign markets cannot currently be met by local exporters. Anjorin said Nigeria had great potential to produce fresh fruit, but the challenge was how to meet the orders.
According to him, there were markets opening their doors to agricultural products from Nigeria in the European Union (EU), South Africa and the United States. He added that exports of agricultural products, considered fresh and competitively priced, to new markets were increasing.
He said packaging needed to be adapted to stabilise fruit and vegetable exports.
Though the nation’s agro exports have reduced due the rejections of consignments because of pests in the shipped produce, Anjorin said there were very few cases of absence phyto-sanitary or plant health certificates.
He said there were limited cases of uses of fake phyto-sanitary certificates and the doctoring of such documents by exporters, as the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service and relevant agencies were working to ensure exporters grew pest-and disease-free fruits and vegetables.
According to him, plant health certificates were issued based on physical inspections by officials of plant quarantine stations.
Source: thenationonlineng.net
