A trade expert, Mr Sand Mba-Kalu, says the approved National Quality Policy will set the stage to make Nigeria non-oil export competitive and increase the monetary value of Nigerian export.
Mba-Kalu, Executive Director, Africa International Trade and Commerce Research Ltd (AITCRL), made this known in an interview in Abuja on Sunday.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the National Quality Policy which was designed to ensure that goods exported from Nigeria were acceptable to countries of import.
The expert said over the years, stakeholders had been lamenting the poor quality compliance level of Nigerian non-oil export which led to rejection of most export and inadequate technical capacity.
He said it equally led to inconsistency of regulatory framework which could be attributed to the country’s lack of a national quality policy.
“Unfortunately, meeting quality standards has always been a major challenge for Nigeria non-oil exporters especially for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
“The EU recently extended the export ban of Nigeria beans to the EU member states to 2022, due to the Nigerian government’s failure to implement the food safety action plan submitted in 2018.
“That is why I welcome the approval by FEC for the Nigeria Quality Policy which I believe, will address this shortcoming,” he said.
He recalled that the process for the policy started during President Goodluck Jonathan administration, adding that it was a delight seeing its eventual ratification under President Muhammadu Buhari.
The expert advised that the implementing institution should be empowered to judiciously enforce the standard, conformity assessment and accreditation with the domestic market.
Mba-Kalu further said that support mechanisms should also be put in place for MSMEs to take advantage of the policy.
According to him, the policy will also require legislative backing and stakeholders must ensure that the business community are well informed and educated on the policy.
“That is how the policy will help grow their businesses, while boosting Nigeria non-oil export by preventing reject of Nigeria export,” he said.
