By Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo
Some players at the just concluded Chinet Aviacargo Conference have described as a mere sham, the designation of over 15 airports in Nigeria as cargo terminals especially as they have no facilities to handle, store or export cargo plus their inability cater more than a flight daily
Managing director of the Asaba Airport Company, Mr. Christophe Pennick who was in a discussion of Nigeria being a cargo destination said there were lots of produces that the country can leverage on but for the fact that they were seasonal foods and not all year round.
“Look, the export thing is affected by the fact that Nigerian farmers grow food in seasons and not all year round like most other farmers. For you to seriously be considered an export nation, you need to grow food all year round.
” Things like maize, mangoes, avocados can be grown year round but what happens here is that once they have saturated the local market after a month or two, they are gone and you don’t see them again till the next year.
” Exporters need to have something to export anytime they land their aircraft. No one will wait for a month or two before they can come and export. It’s a business and the aircraft will not sit on the ground.”
This theory was also canvassed by some other players, who feel more needs to be done, especially regarding exports and the so- designated cargo airports that have little or no capacity to handle exports.
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Executive Director, Airstream Aviation, Anny Chigbo on the first day of the Chinet said all but two of the 15 designated cargo airports can actually handle cargo, musing that even the two that can, can only handle at about 29%.
He said during the panellist session that even proper handlers may not go into some of the other designated cargo airports because the numbers do not compute as providing things like cold rooms for storage in an airport that has no passenger or cargo traffic is foolhardy.
Also, while making his presentation on the way forward on the Role of Logistics in Enhancing Seamless Cargo Export, Managing Director JOHDIC Resources limited, John Ekeanya said equipping special-purpose cargo airport all over the country with the appropriate storage facilities and processing building silos, warehouses for agro products and manufactured goods would be a good start.
He also canvassed for securing the farms for farmers as well as improving the railway system to aid quick evacuation to internal cargo.
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