Over the past five years, Nigeria has continually ranked behind in the Global Competitiveness Report Index, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Nigeria is ranking 115th out of 144 countries assessed and with about 103 export products and commodities rejected at the international market trailing behind countries like South Africa and Ghana with only 5 and 6 product rejects and countries like Kenya and Cameroon, this is not a good position and perception for a developing economy like Nigeria and it seem to not be improving just yet; within the week, the European Union (EU) gave Nigeria till June 16, 2016 – a deadline to put a management system in place to reduce pesticide contaminated food products being exported to the region or face continued rejection of export.

Most of our finished products have been assumed to be below standards especially at markets fronts like the US, Europe and Japan and that is why most of our local experts have argued against Nigeria going into partnership agreements like the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) because our products might be at a disadvantage as they may not be able to favourably compete, then again we look at our raw produce like sesame seeds and domestic beans which have constantly been rejected due to presence of contaminants like afloxin-pesticide residue, and the same time NAFDAC says it is worried that this same food produce rejected at the international market because of its high pesticide residue are actually what Nigerians consume at home.

The continued rejection is affecting the country’s export earning, over the few years we have witnessed a continuous decline in export earnings, export earnings figure is seriously taking a down turn. In 2011, the export earning was $2.7billion. In 2012, it was $2.5billion (7,4 per cent); 2013, it was $2.97billion (13.7per cent); 2014 figure was $2.71billion (8.62 per cent). In Q1 2014, it was $814million; Q1 2015, it was $652million, representing (19.86per cent). In Q2 2014, it was $664million; Q2 2015, it was $391million (39.25per cent) according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and this is a serious trend.

How do we change the trend of rejection met by our locally produced goods and commodity exports in the international market, how do we change the dismal perception about Nigerian products even locally first, how can we improve on our product quality and our product acceptability index internationally from proper documentation to harmonisation of standards and to branding and packaging generally?

First we must be seen to be proactively working, especially in addressing factors like quality of our products, packaging, pricing and promotion, value addition, sanitary conditions, standardisation, compliance with best practice, technology, innovations, research and development.

Secondly we must begin to control and regulate properly, local production, quality control, processing and documentation, for example, systems can be put in place to ensure that before products leave the country’s shores to the international market, the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) can inquire and make proper test on these products to eliminate the cases of rejects at the market, and before these products even get to the point of export, they should have been adequately certified by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration (NAFDAC), so that exporters who send their products to the market without proper checks and certification from authorities and whose products are rejected are meant to be prosecuted for failing to follow due and diligence check, this is to save the country the continuous embarrassment of rejection.

Thirdly, there should be proper synergy between government agencies in embracing the best approach to quality assurance through the creation of appropriate quality infrastructures, funding for research and development as well as product adaptation to meet international requirement. Recently a committee of agencies involving customs, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), SON, NAFDAC, and others were sent on fact finding mission, on reasons Nigerian exported products have always been rejected and on the heel of that, the NEPC has promised that by 2016 Nigerian products will stop being rejected at the international market, this is worthy of note but we need to concrete actions to that effect.

These agencies should drive more effort towards checking factors that may hinder product acceptability along the line of production, for example, NAFDAC can put a process in place where mobile laboratories can be deployed to farms and markets to check and identify at what points that contaminants find its way into the food, to check what the farmers and sellers are not doing rightly and nip it from that stage, this type of campaign can be further extended to creating directed awareness and workshops for the people growing this foods; in same vein exporters who send products to the market without due checks should be prosecuted alongside proper awareness creation for the producing and consuming populace.

Noel Onoja writes from Abuja amgentmedia@gmail.com