The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has pledged decisive support for onion farmers and exporters, unveiling plans to dismantle non-tariff barriers and ease operational constraints limiting the growth of Nigeria’s onion export trade.
The commitment, aimed at strengthening the country’s agricultural export competitiveness, was announced by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, during a courtesy visit by the Regional Observatory of Onion in West and Central Africa (ORO/AOC), led by its President, Aliyu Maitasamu, at the Customs House in Maitama, Abuja.
Nigeria’s onion industry remains a major pillar of the agricultural economy, producing over 1.4 million metric tons annually with an estimated value exceeding N1.17 trillion.
Despite this capacity, exporters have continued to grapple with logistics bottlenecks, inadequate infrastructure and regulatory hurdles that have slowed cross-border trade.
Addressing the delegation, Adeniyi assured stakeholders of the Service’s readiness to remove known non-tariff barriers and resolve operational challenges affecting onion exports.
He emphasized that the NCS would collaborate with relevant government agencies to create a more enabling and efficient export environment.
The Comptroller-General described the engagement as timely, revealing that the Service has, in the past six months, faced sustained pressure from economic operators in Benin Republic and Niger Republic over the use of Nigeria’s transit corridors, particularly routes in the North-East and the Kamba axis.
He reiterated the Service’s commitment to supporting export-oriented stakeholders and positioning Nigeria as a competitive hub for agricultural trade within the West and Central African region.
